[ad_1]
After perhaps underestimating the potential ramifications of a short case, he now finds himself in a dilemma of trying to appease both South Korean and Japanese audiences while avoiding further friction with Tokyo.
President Moon Jae-in has said his administration would respect the South Korean Supreme Court's ruling Oct. 30 that ordered a Japanese company to pay compensation to South Korean wartime laborers.
At the same time, maintaining relations with Japan.
Tokyo has used this bilateral agreement as a basis for its argument that it is totally unacceptable to Japan for World War II.
The South Korean Government on Oct. 31
The court ruling has been praised by the South Korean public as criticized in Japan as a potential detriment to bilateral relations.
For that reason, one high-ranking South Korean Foreign Ministry official said it was not telling how long it would take for the committee to reach a conclusion.
Experts have made various possibilities to deal with the situation, but it
One proposal is to convert the issue into a single domestic one to prevent a further deterioration of relations with Japan.
For example, the South Korean government could increase the payments to wartime laborers under a program that has been in place since a special law was enacted in 2007.
But to prevent a flood of similar lawsuits by other train laborers, the South Korean government would have to greatly increase the payment amounts, according to one expert.
In addition, critics opposed the measure, saying it would go against the spirit of the Supreme Court ruling, which ordered Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. to pay the compensation.
In 2014, the South Korean government established a foundation to provide support to wartime workers.
However, a South Korean Foreign Ministry said that the Japanese government would not be able to do anything about it.
The South Korean government has shown that it has been taken into consideration by the Supreme Court.
When Vice Foreign Minister Takeo Akiba puts his South Korean counterpart, Cho Hyun, in Tokyo on Oct. 25, he clearly told that Japan would never accept any decision.
Sources said South Korean diplomats began transmitting more frequent messages to their Japanese counterparts.
"There was a lack of a sense of crisis on the South Korean side at first," a government source said. "They only appeared to realize the magnitude of the problem when the verdict date neared."
Indicating that the government would wait and see what response to a high-ranking foreign ministry official said, "The ball is in South Korea's short."
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe revealed on Nov. 1 that he expects Seoul to defuse the situation.
"I strongly hope that the South Korean government will make a positive response," Abe said in answering questions at the Lower House Budget Committee.
But Abe 's own ruling Liberal Democratic Party may not allow the government to sit on its hands and wait for a response from Seoul.
A joint session of the Foreign Affairs Division and other divisions held on Nov. 1 to a resolution of the action of the United States .
The resolution also called on the government to consider the measure with the International Court of Justice.
(This article was written by Hajimu Takeda in Seoul and Tamiyuki Kihara in Tokyo.)
[ad_2]
Source link
