President Park Geun-hye Monday pledged to build future-oriented relations with Japan as the two neighbors prepare to mark the 50th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic ties amid souring ties over history disputes.
Seoul-Tokyo relations remain badly frayed largely because of Japan’s refusal to atone for its past wrongdoing stemming from its colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula from 1910-45. One of the key pending issues is a demand by former Korean sex slaves for an apology and compensation from Japan.
Japan has so far refused to comply with the demand, insisting that the “comfort women” were recruited by civilian profiteers and its wartime military-led government was not directly involved.
“I hope that you will take care for the development of future-oriented bilateral relations on such issues that require cooperation,” though there are outstanding issues, Park said in a meeting of senior aides.
She also said it is more important for South Korea and Japan to break the deadlock in their relations than holding diverse events next Monday to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic ties.
Last week, Park said in an interview with The Washington Post that “considerable progress” has been made with Japan on the issue of sex slaves and “We are in the final stage of our negotiations.”
She also told the presidential aides to consult with their U.S. counterparts to push for her summit with U.S. President Barack Obama at a proper time within this year. She did not give any specific time frame.
The summit had originally been scheduled to take place in Washington this week, but Park postponed it at the last minute, citing the urgent need for efforts to contain the deadly MERS virus.
The delay of a trip “should not weaken the momentum” for economic cooperation with the U.S., Park said.
Last week, Park expressed hope during her telephone call with Obama that she could meet with him in Washington at an early date.
Obama also told her that he had told his aides to consult with South Korean officials to quickly rearrange Park’s U.S. trip.
Park also called on the people to return to their normal job — in the latest appeal to calm a widespread public scare sparked by the MERS virus that has killed 16 people and sickened 150 others.
She told officials to try to minimize the economic impact caused by the MERS outbreak and vowed to make the rapid response team that was put in place to deal with the virus a standing body to cope with threats posed by contagious diseases.
She asked a tripartite committee of the government, businesses and labor organizations to resume dialogue and to overhaul such labor issues as labor market duality — the difference in pay and job security between regular and non-regular workers.
She also called on the public sector and big businesses to take the lead in introducing a wage peak system in order to encourage the private sector to embrace the job-sharing measure.
The system is designed to provide job security for older employees through a gradual wage cut after a certain age. The money saved can be used to hire more young people. (Yonhap)
