"Half" Sado Mine Holds First Memorial Ceremony..."Sorry" in Japan.

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[Anchor]
A "half-way" memorial service was held at Sado Mine in Niigata Prefecture, Japan, the site of forced labor for Koreans in Japanese colonial era, with only the Japanese side attending amid the discord between Korea and Japan.

The bereaved families of the victims of forced mobilization of Koreans and the Korean government will hold their own memorial service.

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

[Reporter]
From 1 p.m. today, the "Sado Mine Memorial Ceremony" was held for about 40 minutes at the Aikawa Development Center in Sado City, west of Sado Island, Japan, with only Japanese officials attending.

It was originally scheduled to be held with the Korean bereaved family and officials from the Korean and Japanese governments in attendance, but the South Korean government abruptly declared its absence yesterday, a day before the event, by taking issue with the Japanese representative.

The move comes after the Japanese government sent Akiko Ikuina, a foreign affairs official with a history of visiting Yasukuni shrine, as a representative.

Ikuina, a political officer, has been emphasizing South Korea's concessions on issues of conflict between South Korea and Japan, such as Japanese Military Sexual Slavery and forced conscription, as well as visiting Yasukuni shrine in 2022.

The 40-minute event was attended by Ikuina, a political officer, Governor of Niigata Prefecture Hanazumi Hideyo, Mayor of Ryugo Watanabe, and private organizations.

Half of the memorial hall was empty as the vacancy was not filled due to the absence of bereaved families and Korean government officials.

The event was held in the order of silent tribute, eulogy, and offering flowers, and eulogy was read only by Ikuina, a political officer due to our absence.

In reading the eulogy, Ikuina said that some of the workers at the Sado mine were from the Korean Peninsula, noting that they worked in harsh conditions in the mine.

Nine bereaved families of forced labor victims who arrived in Japan yesterday to attend the memorial service and Ambassador Park Chul-hee to Japan are expected to hold their own memorial service soon and inspect the Sado mine facility.

[Anchor]
The Japanese government responded that it was regrettable that our government decided not to attend?

[Reporter]
Yes, it is.

In a statement distributed through the Japanese Embassy in Korea, the Japanese government responded that it was regrettable that the Korean government was absent.

The Japanese government said it has continued to communicate respectfully between the two governments while cooperating with local officials who are the organizers of the memorial ceremony, adding that it would be regrettable if South Korea does not attend the memorial ceremony in this situation.

Local media reported that embarrassment spread within the Japanese government and local communities at the news of the Korean government's absence a day before the event.

Kyodo News reported that a foreign ministry official complained that South Korea was overreacting to domestic public opinion.

At the same time, he also conveyed the words of Sado City, who criticized the Japanese government, saying that it was the result of the Japanese government's failure to show sincerity.

Local media reported that there was a view within the Japanese government that the issue should not be prolonged apart from South Korea's decision to not attend.

When the Sado mine was listed as a World Heritage Site in July, the Japanese government promised to set up exhibits on forced labor and hold an annual worker memorial event to obtain consent from Korea.

However, there was no expression of "forcedness" in the exhibits, and Korea and Japan have been at odds over the schedule, name, and central government participants.

Sado Mine, which was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in July, has a painful history of 1,500 Koreans mobilized and forced labor during the Japanese colonial period.

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