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South Koreans angry over President Yoon's Japan visit

Wednesday, 15 March 2023 6:02 PM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 15 March 2023 6:02 PM ]

Frank Smith
Press TV, Seoul

South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol travels to Japan Thursday for a carefully orchestrated summit meant to mend frayed ties. It is the first visit of a South Korean leader to Japan in 11 years.

Those strained relations were expressed by people outside the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, Wednesday. The Yoon administration recently announced a deal to compensate Japan's South Korean victims- with South Korean contributions.

This angered many South Koreans who were further offended by President Yoon's comments on March 1st, which marks a 1919 revolt against Japan's colonial rule.

Recent surveys have shown that sixty percent of South Koreans oppose the agreement to compensate the victims of Japan's colonial abuses. But President Yoon Suk-yeol will only serve a single five-year term. So resolving the historical conflict between the two states with a single summit appears unlikely.

Despite the backlash President Yoon plans to forge ahead particularly in the interests of business and security, as Seoul's key ally, the US, is anxious to see South Korea and Japan cooperate to reign in North Korea's nuclear and missile programs and to help contain China.

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