The presidential office on the 13th said of the Japanese government's failure to mention the "forced" labor of Joseon people even at the Sado Mine memorial service, "Our government's position is that the memorial service should be held properly with content and form befitting its purpose and nature."
A presidential office official said this and added, "In line with that position, we intend to continue consultations with the Japanese side going forward."
The official emphasized, "We did not reach a satisfactory conclusion this year, but under the basic position that we must face the past while moving toward the future, as we build mutual trust and understanding and put conditions in place, the quality of cooperation, including on historical issues, will further improve."
The Sado Mine memorial service was a measure Japan promised to secure cooperation from the Korean side after it pushed in Jul. last year to list the Sado Mine as a UNESCO World Heritage site and Korea demanded that the full history, including the forced labor of Joseon people, be reflected.
However, as with last year, this year's memorial service, the second to be held, did not mention the coercive nature of Joseon people's labor. In the process of discussing the memorial service with the Japanese side, our government concluded that the eulogy would not include language related to coercion and notified that it would not attend.