South Korean presidential front-runner says he's not hostile toward Japan

Japan Times

21-05-2025

Lee Jae-myung, the front-runner in South Korea's June 3 presidential election, is continuing to play down his earlier hard-line views on his country's tumultuous relationship with Japan, with the Democratic Party (DP) candidate hinting that he would not take an antagonistic approach to ties if elected.
'There is a preconception that I am hostile toward Japan,' Lee told a livestreamed meeting with South Koreans abroad on Tuesday, according to local media. 'Japan is a neighboring country, and we must cooperate with each other to create synergy.'
Officials in Tokyo are closely watching Lee's remarks for hints of how bilateral relations could shift if he is elected.
The progressive Lee, who in 2023 staged a 24-day hunger strike opposing the conservative policies of then-President Yoon Suk Yeol, including Seoul's reconciliation with Tokyo, has in recent months sought to highlight a more centrist agenda ahead of the election. This has especially been the case with his foreign policy pronouncements as he looks to appeal to more moderate swing voters who could prove crucial in the poll.
While Lee has disavowed concerns that he would reverse the ousted Yoon's Japan policies and the trilateral cooperation with Japan and the U.S., the DP candidate has also emphasized that Seoul cannot back down from festering historical grievances, including the issues of compensation for Korean wartime laborers at Japanese factories and mines during Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule over the peninsula.
Tokyo's stance is that all such claims were settled 'completely and finally' under a 1965 agreement that normalized bilateral ties and saw Japan pay $500 million to South Korea.
Last month, a South Korean lawmaker who advises Lee on foreign policy said that the solution offered by Yoon to resolve the wartime labor issue ought to be reviewed, citing the need for a public consensus on the divisive matter.
Lee reiterated his views Tuesday, as well as his possible position on the South Korean-controlled, Japanese-claimed islets that Seoul calls Dokdo and Tokyo labels Takeshima. The tiny islets have at times been a powder keg for nationalist sentiment in the South.
'We cannot be lenient on issues such as historical issues and the Dokdo issue, but I believe that it is very important to be proactive and open in the areas of cultural exchange and cooperation between South Korea and Japan and to improve relations,' Lee was quoted as saying.
The DP candidate also stressed that 'Japanese politics and the Japanese people are different.'
'I have a very favorable impression of the Japanese people,' he said. 'Based on my several visits to Japan, I found the Japanese people to be humble, kind, hardworking, frugal and truly worthy of learning from.'
A Gallup Korea survey conducted from May 13 to 15 and released Friday showed Lee with 51% support, ahead of the conservative People Power Party's Kim Moon-soo, who had 29%, and Lee Jun-seok, of the minor Reform Party, with 8%.