 |
S.Korea's Mixed Reaction to Koizumi's Apology
South Korean ruling and opposition parties made mixed reactions Monday to the apology made by visiting Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi for Japan's atrocities on the Korean Peninsula last century.
"I sincerely regret and apologize from my heart for the losses and pain inflicted on the Korean people by Japan's colonial rule," said Koizumi when paying respect at a memorial tablet in Seoul Independence Park, once a prison where Japan tortured and killed Korean fighters against Japan's occupation in 1910-1945.
The ruling Millennium Democratic Party (MDP) urged Japan to put into action the apology and repentance Koizumi expressed. MDP spokesman Jeon Yong-hak said the apology and repentance should not be left a mere diplomatic rhetoric but should be practically reflected by Tokyo in future South Korean-Japanese relations.
The spokesman asked Japan to hold working-level meetings with South Korea to settle fishing dispute in waters off the southern Kurile Islands at the earliest possible date, as agreed at the meeting between South Korean President Kim Dae-jung and Koizumi, who arrived here Monday morning for a one-day visit.
The fishing dispute is so serious that failure to settle it may have a grave impact not only on South Korean fishermen's livelihood but also on future ties between the two nations, he said.
The opposition Grand National Party (GNP) said that Koizumi's apology is made without sincere repentance and practical action plans, while minor opposition United Liberal Democrats (ULD) expressed a reserved appreciation of Koizumi's visit to the Seoul Independence Park as a gesture of apology and repentance.
ULD urged Japan to settle the fishing dispute and the history textbook issue by making an official apology for Prime Minister Koizumi's recent visit to the Yasukuni Shrine.
In addition, South Korean civic groups dismissed Koizumi's apology, saying that hundreds of apologies by the Japanese government would not be enough to make up for Japan's atrocities during its colonial rule on the Korean Peninsula.
They said the Japanese government must put its words into actions.
The Movement to Correct Japanese Textbooks said that Japan has apologized many times but showed nothing tangible and that only offering another apology is an insult to the Korean people.
The Korean Council Representing Women Forced into Sexual Slavery by the Japanese Military said one sincere step is worth more than hundreds of apologies and the South Korean government should not be content with Koizumi's remarks.
The Pacific War Victims and Bereaved Families Association said the South Koreans would not be fooled any longer by Japan's "sweet talk" as action speaks louder than speech.
In This Section
|