Lee criticizes gov't for pushing to mend relations with Japan without compensation

• Published date: 01 March 2023
• Publication title: The Korea Times

Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung on Wednesday criticized the government of President Yoon Suk Yeol for trying to mend relations with Japan, saying trust-building is impossible unless Japan takes responsibility and offers legal compensation for its 1910-45 colonial rule of Korea.

Lee, chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, made the remark in a Facebook post marking the anniversary of the March 1 Independence Movement, a 1919 nationwide uprising against the Japanese colonial rule.

"The Yoon Suk Yeol government is oblivious of the March 1 Independence Movement spirit and is damaging it," Lee said. "No one would oppose building future-oriented Korea-Japan relations. Without historical responsibility and legitimate legal compensation, however, it is impossible to build trust."

The Yoon administration has been seeking a solution to the issue of wartime forced labor that has frayed relations with Japan for years after Korea's Supreme Court ordered Japanese...