Lee presses Japan to resolve 'comfort women' issue

Korean Comfort Women
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nk-vrHhEobk

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2012/08/15/8/0301000000AEN20120815001652315F.HTML

(3rd LD) Lee presses Japan to resolve 'comfort women' issue
By Chang Jae-soon
SEOUL, Aug. 15 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak urged Japan to take sincere steps to resolve long-running grievances over Tokyo's wartime sexual enslavement of Korean women, saying the act was a violation of "universal human rights and historic justice."

Lee made the remarks during a Liberation Day address marking Korea's independence from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule, as tensions between the two countries flared anew after his surprise visit last week to South Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo, which Tokyo claims as its own.

Lee, however, made no mention of Dokdo in the speech.

Historians say that tens of thousands of Asian women, mostly Koreans, were forced to work at front-line brothels for Japanese soldiers during World War II. Victims of sexual slavery have been euphemistically called "comfort women."

"Japan is a close neighbor, a friend that shares basic values and an important partner that we should work with to open the future. However, we have to point out that chain links tangled in the history of Korea-Japan relations are hampering the common march toward a better tomorrow in the Northeast Asian region, as well as bilateral ties," Lee said.

"Particularly, the issue involving the mobilization of 'comfort women' by the imperial Japanese military goes beyond relations between Korea and Japan," he said. "It was a breach of women's rights committed during wartime as well as a violation of universal human rights and historic justice. We urge the Japanese Government to take responsible measures in this regard."



Lee has repeatedly stressed that the comfort women issue is becoming increasingly urgent as most victims are elderly, well over 80 years old, and may die before they receive compensation or an apology from Japan. Currently, there are only 60 victims alive.

Tokyo has been ignoring Seoul's demand for official talks on compensating the aging Korean women, claiming all issues regarding its colonial rule were settled in a 1965 package compensation deal under which the two countries normalized their relations.

Lee's trip to Dokdo, which was made Friday, has sharply raised tensions between Seoul and Tokyo. It was the first time that a South Korean president has ever visited the islets lying in the East Sea around halfway between the Korean Peninsula and Japan.

Lee has said he decided to make the trip to show through action that Japan needs to sincerely atone for its past wrongdoing, and that lack of progress in efforts to resolve colonial-era issues has kept South Korea from fully opening its heart to Japan and moving relations between the two countries forward.

On Tuesday, Lee said Japan's emperor should sincerely apologize for the country's colonial rule if he wants to visit South Korea, and that he "does not need to come" if he is going to offer an insincere apology couched in vague language, recalling the hard-to-understand, ancient wording Emperor Akihito used in his 1990 apology.

Japan has strongly protested against Lee's visit, urging South Korea to agree to take the issue to the international court for settlement. South Korea has flatly rebuffed the suggestion, saying it makes no sense to refer what is clearly the country's territory to the court.

In what appears to be a tit-for-tat argument, two Japanese cabinet members and about 50 lawmakers paid their respect at Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine on Wednesday, a move that South Korea, China and other Asian nations have resented because such visits are considered to glorify Japan's imperialistic past.

It was the first time that Japanese cabinet members have visited the shrine since the Democratic Party of Japan rose to power in September 2009.

South Korea expressed regret, calling the visit "irresponsible."

Also Wednesday, Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba said Tokyo has lodged an official protest with South Korea over Lee's remarks on the country's emperor. Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda also said he "cannot understand the remarks."

"It is regrettable," Noda said, according to news reports.

Tokyo has long laid claims to Dokdo in school textbooks, government reports and other ways.

South Korea has rejected the claims to Dokdo as amounting to denying Korea's rights because the country regained independence from colonial rule and reclaimed sovereignty over its territory, including Dokdo and many other islands around the Korean Peninsula. Koreans also view the claims as a sign Japan has not fully repented for its imperialist past.

South Korea has kept a small police detachment on Dokdo since 1954.

Lee said South Korea will continue to make preparations for unification with North Korea.

"The ultimate consummation of our liberation consists in national unification. National reunification will be the springboard of a truly greater Republic of Korea," he said, referring to South Korea's official name.

Lee urged Pyongyang to give up its nuclear programs, embrace reform and open up to the outside world, saying the South is prepared to help the impoverished nation. Lee also said the South is open to dialogue with the communist nation.

"Pyongyang has also come to a situation where it has to look straight at reality and consider a transformation," he said. "We will carefully watch for the possible changes."

Lee called for support from across the society to overcome economic difficulties, saying the situation triggered by the eurozone debt crisis is more serious than anticipated, and it could take more time than originally projected for the global economy to turn around.

"In addressing the current global crisis, the government efforts alone will not suffice," Lee said. "Collaboration of all economic entities, including businesses, is urgently needed. Business leaders are well advised to continuously increase investment and employment without being intimidated."

Lee said his administration will do its best to energize the economy and stabilize the livelihoods of ordinary people.

"A politician has a fixed tenure, yet the duties of taking care of the economy and everyday lives of the public must continue without stopping," he said.

jschang@yna.co.kr



http://rokdrop.com/2012/08/15/president-lee-criticizes-japan-over-handling-of-comfort-women-issue/

By GI Korea on August 15th, 2012 at 7:38 am
President Lee Criticizes Japan Over Handling of Comfort Women Issue
» by GI Korea in: Japan
It looks like President Lee is out helping his political party before this year’s election by once again pulling the bash Japan card and with the Dokdo and comfort women issue it is so easy to do:

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak urged Japan to take sincere steps to resolve long-running grievances over Tokyo’s wartime sexual enslavement of Korean women, saying the act was a violation of “universal human rights and historic justice.”

Lee made the remarks during a Liberation Day address marking Korea’s independence from Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule, as tensions between the two countries flared anew after his surprise visit last week to South Korea’s easternmost islets of Dokdo, which Tokyo claims as its own.

Lee, however, made no mention of Dokdo in the speech.

Historians say that tens of thousands of Asian women, mostly Koreans, were forced to work at front-line brothels for Japanese soldiers during World War II. Victims of sexual slavery have been euphemistically called “comfort women.”

“Japan is a close neighbor, a friend that shares basic values and an important partner that we should work with to open the future. However, we have to point out that chain links tangled in the history of Korea-Japan relations are hampering the common march toward a better tomorrow in the Northeast Asian region, as well as bilateral ties,” Lee said.

“Particularly, the issue involving the mobilization of ‘comfort women’ by the imperial Japanese military goes beyond relations between Korea and Japan,” he said. “It was a breach of women’s rights committed during wartime as well as a violation of universal human rights and historic justice. We urge the Japanese Government to take responsible measures in this regard.” [Yonhap]




You can read more at the link.

Tags: comfort women, Japan, Korea
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21
Teadrinker
6:23 am on August 15th, 2012 1
Didn’t you link to an article yesterday that mentions that it’s traditional for South Korean presidents to make such statements on August 15th?
Stephen
7:35 am on August 15th, 2012 2
Our Chinese client asked one of my employees what he thought of Lee Mingbo (AKA Lee Myeong-bak).
“I hate him. I think he was really born in Osaka.”
Lee isn’t fooling anyone. The journalists are all paid poodles of Lee.
Dr.Yu
7:45 am on August 15th, 2012 3
If only Japan stop provoking Korea, we would just let it go and forget all those things, but they keep claiming korean territory and offend the memory of the victims of their atrocities from time to time …. Most Koreans reactions are emotional response to japanese provocations but I´m sure most koreans would rather get along with them as good neighbors. I have wonderful japanese friends and dont care about japanese colonization when I´m with them, and I´m sure our governments could do the same should japanese government stop provoking korea as they always do …
Tom
10:17 am on August 15th, 2012 4
I have no problems with the Japanese either. Like Americans, they look down on Koreans, but unlike Americans they do it privately away from Koreans. I think it would have been better if Japan had wiped out the American naval forces at Pearl Harbor. The history would be different today and Asia would be for Asians with no American involvement. It was America who started the war on Japan by putting in place the oil embargo, forcing Japan to act. The Pearl Harbor was not a sneak attack, it was a strategic first strike.
Dr.Yu
11:10 am on August 15th, 2012 5
Tom, please try harder …. you attempt to bash the americans its not even funny these days …
Kingkitty
11:45 am on August 15th, 2012 6
Good Job Tom
Teadrinker
6:16 pm on August 15th, 2012 7
“I hate him. I think he was really born in Osaka.”
He was born in Osaka, as were many other Koreans because their parents were brought there to work as slave/cheap labor. His family moved back as soon as South Korea was liberated from Japan. He was only 4. As president of the student council of Korea University, he was sentenced to 3 years in jail for insurrection for organizing protests against Park Chung-hee’s signing of the restitution agreement with Japan and served 3 months of his sentence in Seodaemun Prison (yes, the very jail where anti-colonial activists were jailed by the Japanese).
But, yes, the guy is obviously pro-Japanese because he spent his early childhood there.

Either you have morons working for you or your employee was saying what he or she thought the client wanted.
Teadrinker
6:20 pm on August 15th, 2012 8
#3,
Deep down inside, most Koreans don’t care. It’s the vocal minority, the ones brainwashed by jingoism, that make you think that they do (and forces the others to feel obliged to care).
kushibo
9:40 pm on August 15th, 2012 9
Teadrinker, they came back not as soon as Korea was liberated but, possibly, as soon as they could. 2MB was born in 1946.
Teadrinker
3:36 am on August 16th, 2012 10
#9,
I read he was born in 1941 and his family returned in 1945.
South Korean singer swims into island dispute with Japan – CNN | MaritimeSecurity.Asia
12:04 pm on August 16th, 2012 11
[...] Source South Korean singer Kim Jang-Hoon (R) swims in the sea off Uljin, 225 kms southeast of Seoul, on Au…ng more than 40 swimmers who are part of a politically-charged relay team swimming from South Korea to the contested islands of Dokdo, or Takeshima as they're known in Japan." border="0" height="360" class="c4" width="640" />South Korean singer Kim Jang-Hoon (R) swims in the sea off Uljin, 225 kms southeast of Seoul, on August 13, 2012. He's among more than 40 swimmers who are part of a politically-charged relay team swimming from South Korea to the contested islands of Dokdo, or Takeshima as they're known in Japan. South Korean singer Kim Jang-Hoon (front) and members of a swimming club pose for a group photo before embarking on a 55-hour-long relay swim to the contested islands. They're due to arrive on Wednesday, August 15, the 67th anniversary of Korea's independence from Japanese colonial rule. South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak points through the window of a helicopter at the remote islands disputed with Japan on August 10, 2012. It was the first visit by a South Korean president to the islands, which prompted Tokyo to recall its ambassador from Seoul in protest. An aerial view of the remote islands disputed with Japan taken on August 10, 2012. According to a South Korean website on the islands, Dokdo has a population of three and amid the craggy rocks sit a lighthouse, lodge, helicopter landing pad, and a police station manned by South Korean officers. South Korean midfielder Park Jongwoo fights for the ball during the bronze medal football match the London Olympics, August 10, 2012. The IOC withheld Park's medal after he held a banner asserting South Korea's ownership of the contested islands during post-match celebrations. HIDE CAPTION Asian island dispute Asian island dispute Asian island dispute Asian island dispute Asian island dispute << < 1 2 3 4 5 > >> STORY HIGHLIGHTS South Korean singer Kim Jang-hoon leading dozens of swimmers to Dokdo or Takeshima [...]
Stephen
8:28 pm on August 16th, 2012 12
Teadrinker
6:16 pm on August 15th, 2012 7
“I hate him. I think he was really born in Osaka.”
But, yes, the guy is obviously pro-Japanese because he spent his early childhood there.
Either you have morons working for you or your employee was saying what he or she thought the client wanted.
It was prefaced by a discussion on the Gu Kailai case. Faux nationalism being a common tool of political opportunists such as her hubby Bo Xilai and Lee Mingbo.
Teadrinker
6:20 pm on August 15th, 2012 8
#3,
Deep down inside, most Koreans don’t care. It’s the vocal minority, the ones brainwashed by jingoism, that make you think that they do (and forces the others to feel obliged to care).
See above. Plus no one stops the crazy jingoists, just as no one stops any crazy behavior.
Back in 2002, on the subway some boy and his mate walked up to me with a poster and the usual derogatory remarks of that time. When I replied to his antics in Korean he hopped off at the next station pronto.
After that, an old guy comes up to me and says, “Don’t worry about them. They’re just Seoul National students.”
i.e. I should ignore them like everyone else … which is not the same as condoning jingoistic behavior, just a passive resistance.
Seguing back to resistance to Lee Mingbo, I have noticed several acquaintances have literally started to count down the days until he is awarded the Order of the Constitutional Boot.
Tom
8:32 pm on August 16th, 2012 13
Everyone has the 2002 horror story. I guess when you keep saying it happened, you can convince yourself that it really did happen.
Teadrinker
9:07 pm on August 16th, 2012 14
#12,
“Plus no one stops the crazy jingoists, just as no one stops any crazy behavior.”
Nobody ever does anywhere, really. Hence, my comment stands.
Besides, that doesn’t answer why your employee said that. I would be willing to bet that he or she said what your Chinese client wanted to hear. Only the young tend to be blindly idealistic and nationalistic (as your anecdote clearly suggests).
Teadrinker
9:21 pm on August 16th, 2012 15
#13,
Yes, Tom, Korea existed before you were able to place it on the map, and there was a time when some Koreans (mainly easily impressionable youth) were openly aggressive towards Americans and anyone who seemed American to them.
It might come as a surprise to you, since you know very little about Korean history, but South Korean politicians have been manipulating young people since the 40′s. Read up on Prime Minister/General Lee Bum Suk/Yi Bom Sok’s fascist Blue Shirts for starters. He famously said during an interview with Time, “We base our instruction on the German youth movement because Germans are the only people who really know how to organize young men.” I could go on about him and the influence he’s had on Korean nationalism, but you get the picture.
Teadrinker
9:24 pm on August 16th, 2012 16
…and yes, he also organized one of the anti-communist prisoner groups at the infamous Koje Island POW camp.
Stephen
9:26 pm on August 16th, 2012 17
Teadrinker
9:07 pm on August 16th, 2012 14
#12,
I would be willing to bet that he or she said what your Chinese client wanted to hear.
He said what he believed, which is that Lee Mingbo is a faux nationalist.
The scoundrel known as Lee Mingbo is the worst president in Korean history for:
(1) USD 22 billion washed downriver
(2) 4% of households now insolvent
(3) foreign affairs faux pas
My employee (1) has heard of Samuel Johnson, he may even have read The Patriot and (2) was lamenting the debt levels in Korea during the same conversation.
Ergo 1 + 2 = ?
Teadrinker
10:40 pm on August 16th, 2012 18
#17,
“He said what he believed, which is that Lee Mingbo is a faux nationalist. ”
I don’t disagree that his Four Rivers Project was a huge scam designed to funnel our taxes into the coffers of a particular construction company…But a pro-Japanese because of his country of birth? Come on.
Jerry Foley
2:06 am on August 22nd, 2012 19
Why is that we so much about this but the country continues to let prostitution flourish now? Is it not hte same thing? I mean how about cleaning up this mess instead of complaining about what someone else did over 50 years ago.
warrior6
5:56 pm on August 27th, 2012 20
[Deleted by admin]
Seoul Guy
8:07 pm on August 27th, 2012 21
#19, American porn industry is bigget in the world AND you have more prostitute per capita than South Korea does. Japanese have the bigget sex industry outside of Amsterdam and Bangkok. Angeles City isn’t so far behind either.
Where do you and idiots like you get this idea that Korea as what you think it is. Don’t act like you know Korea at all.