"Half" Sado Mine Memorial Ceremony will be held today...No Korea due to Yasukuni controversy

Sado Mine Memorial Ceremony 'Half Event' to be held...Japanese side only attended
Government decides not to attend Japanese Sado mine memorial a day before
Government Decides Not To Attend Vice-Minister-Level 'Yasukuni Shrine'

[Anchor]
Japan's "Sado Mine Memorial Ceremony" will be held this afternoon in memory of the victims of forced mobilization of Koreans in Japanese colonial era.

It will be held as a "half-way event" as the Korean government declared its absence yesterday, a day before the event, due to the Japanese representative's history of visiting Yasukuni shrine.

I'm connecting to the international department. Reporter Yoon Hyun-sook, please tell us.

[Reporter]
Japan's Sado Mine Memorial Ceremony Executive Committee will hold a "Sado Mine Memorial Ceremony" at 1 p.m. today at the Aikawa Development Center in Sado City, west of Sado Island.

It was originally scheduled to be held with Korean and Japanese government officials, including Korean bereaved families, in attendance, but as South Korea boycotted the event, only Japanese officials will attend.

Our government declared its absence yesterday, a day before the event.

This is because it was judged that the Japanese government's attitude lacked sincerity.

The Foreign Ministry cannot reach an acceptable agreement over differences between the two countries over the memorial service. I've made a decision.

It was crucial to select a far-right politician who visited Yasukuni shrine as the representative of the Japanese central government.

Akiko Ikuina, a foreign affairs officer sent by the Japanese government as a representative, was found to have visited Yasukuni shrine, where Class A war criminals from the Pacific War were enshrined in 2022, sparking controversy.

Ikuina, a political officer, has given an answer to the effect that South Korea should make more concessions on past issues such as forced mobilization.

Criticism has been raised in Korea that such a person coming as a representative of the Japanese government is nothing but insulting Korean workers mobilized for forced labor.

The unclear name of the event and the unclear details of the eulogy were also pointed out as problems.

It is not clear who the victim is memorializing because the name of the official event is missing, and whether the details of the eulogy will include comforting Korean workers was not disclosed until just before the event.

Japan responded to our government's decision not to attend, saying it was "regrettable."

The Japanese Embassy in Korea said in response to a media query, "The Japanese government has been cooperating with the host, local officials, and has also communicated respectfully between the two governments," adding, "It is regrettable if the South Korean side is absent."

[Anchor]
The Korean bereaved family has already arrived in Japan to attend the memorial service, and they are planning to hold their own memorial service?

[Reporter]
Yes, it is.

Nine Korean bereaved families and officials from our government have already arrived in Japan yesterday.

Following the decision not to attend, we are discussing ways to hold a separate memorial service tomorrow and inspect facilities related to workers at Sado Mine.

The site of Sado Mine's old dormitory in Sado Island is being discussed as a place for its own memorial service.

Korean Ambassador to Japan Park Chul-hee, the representative of the Korean government, will not attend the memorial service prepared by Japan, but will attend our own memorial service.

Earlier in July, the Japanese side promised to install exhibition facilities for forced labor in Korea and hold a worker memorial ceremony in connection with the listing of the Sado Mine as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

However, the exhibits installed by Japan did not contain any terms such as 'forced mobilization' or 'forced execution', which caused controversy.

In addition, the memorial ceremony, which exposed continuous conflicts during the consultation process, was eventually crippled from the first year, raising questions about the Japanese government's sincerity in cooperation between Korea and Japan and reflecting on the past.

The South Korean government also cannot be free from diplomatic responsibility as it has been stabbed in the back by the Japanese side following the UNESCO listing in 2015.

Sado Mine, which was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in July, is a painful place where 1,500 Koreans were mobilized and forced to work during the Japanese colonial period.

I'm YTN's Hyunsuk Yoon in the international department.