President Lee Jae-myung, who is visiting Japan, said at a meeting with ethnic Koreans in the Kansai (Kwanseo) region on the 14th, "I once again offer my apologies and words of consolation to those directly affected and to the bereaved families who suffered harm and were wounded in the unfortunate history of the Republic of Korea."
At the meeting held at a hotel in Nara Prefecture, Lee said, "Nara Prefecture, the hometown of Prime Minister Takaichi, has living traditions like our Gongju, Buyeo, and Gyeongju, so even though it is my first visit, it feels warm." He added, "Like the four-sided pagoda of Asuka-mura and the traces of migrants from across the sea, Korea and Japan have been closely connected since ancient times, but unfortunately, because of the unhappy past, the beautiful history of exchanges over thousands of years has not been properly recorded."
He then mentioned the bereaved families of the Jeju April 3 victims, residents of Utoro village, and members of the Association of Conscience Prisoners of Korea in Japan who were present, saying, "We must not forget the painful history that, after liberation, because the homeland was divided and in conflict, you had no choice but to cross again, and the cases in which the state, during the dictatorship, labeled ethnic Koreans in Japan as spies and fabricated incidents." He continued, "I know well your efforts to stand against discrimination and hate to protect human dignity and the national community."
Encouraging the efforts of ethnic Koreans in Japan, Lee said, "You lit countless lights to defend the democracy of the Republic of Korea during the '88 Olympics, the IMF foreign exchange crisis, and more recently the illegal martial law situation. I offer deep respect and gratitude for your unwavering hard work and dedication." Citing the building of the Consulate General in Chuo-Osaka, established to hang the Taegeukgi on Osaka's Midosuji, as a "symbol of love for the homeland," he said, "Thanks to your sacrifices, the Republic of Korea achieved industrialization and democratization at the same time, and Korea-Japan relations are also making gradual progress."
Earlier, on the 4th, Lee paid a state visit to China and, during a meeting with ethnic Koreans there, instructed diplomatic missions abroad in each country to "compile civil complaints and suggestions from ethnic Koreans in their jurisdictions and report them to the home country." Referring to this again at the meeting that day, Lee said, "We will identify and improve all systems with potential problems so that no one suffers unreasonable discrimination because of nationality or origin."