The Korean government has decided not to attend the Sado mine memorial service to be held on the 12th in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, Japan. As Korea and Japan failed to narrow differences over how to reflect the forced mobilization of Koreans in the memorial address, the Sado mine memorial service will be held as a "half event" for the third consecutive year.

Members of civic groups including The Center for Historical Truth and Justice, the museum affiliated with it, and a citizens' group on Japan's wartime forced mobilization stage a performance wearing placards listing the names of Korean coal miners who were forcibly mobilized, near the venue of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee meeting at the Busan Exhibition & Convention Center (BEXCO) in July./Courtesy of Yonhap News

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on the 9th that "we had continued earnest consultations with the Japanese side so that this year's Sado mine memorial service could be fully held, but we did not reach mutual agreement on key issues," announcing a policy of non-participation.

According to Kyodo News, the Korean government conveyed its intention not to attend to the Japanese side the previous day. A Japanese Foreign Ministry official said, "The differences in views between Korea and Japan over the content of the memorial address have not been resolved," and added, "The Korean side appears likely to hold its own memorial service again this year."

The Sado mine memorial service is an event Japan promised to hold to secure Korea's cooperation as it pushed to have it inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2024. At the time, the Korean government demanded that the "entire history" of the Sado mine, including the forced labor of Koreans, be reflected, and Japan accepted this.

However, in preparing for the first memorial service the same year, Japan and Korea differed over the event's name and the content of the memorial address. As a result, Korean bereaved families and government officials did not attend the first memorial service held on Nov. 24, 2024.

At the second memorial service last year, the Korean government also did not attend, judging that the Japanese side's memorial address did not sufficiently reflect the coercive nature of mobilizing Korean workers. The Korean government held separate memorial services in 2024 and last year.

Announcing this year's non-attendance, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, "The government notes the related decision of the 48th session of the World Heritage Committee and urges the Japanese side to faithfully and fully implement the recommendations in the decision."

The Sado mine gained renown as a gold mine during the Edo period (1603–1867). After the Pacific War intensified, it was used as a mine to secure war materials. At the time, Koreans from the colony were forcibly mobilized and worked in poor conditions.

The Sado mine was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site at the 46th session of the World Heritage Committee held in New Delhi, India, in July 2024. Since then, criticism has continued that Japan has not sufficiently publicized the history of forced labor of Koreans.

The 48th session of the World Heritage Committee held in Busan in July also assessed that Japan's follow-up measures were insufficient. It judged there had been only "some progress" in the process of implementing the recommendation to prepare interpretation and exhibition strategies that reflect the "entire history" of the Sado mine.

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