S. Korea to skip Sado mine memorial

South Korea will not attend a memorial ceremony to be hosted by Japan on Saturday at the Sado Island Gold Mines, a UNESCO World Heritage site associated with victims of wartime forced labor from the Korean Peninsula, according to the South Korean Foreign Ministry.

Seoul's decision marks a three-year boycott over a disagreement with Tokyo over how victims from the Korean Peninsula should be remembered and honored, Yonhap News Agency reported on Wednesday.

"We had continued serious consultations with Japan to ensure that this year's ceremony could be held in a complete and proper manner, but decided not to attend after the two sides failed to reach an agreement on key points," Yonhap reported, citing a ministry release.

The ministry also urged Japan to "fully and faithfully" implement the recommendations set out by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee.

In a session held in South Korea's Busan in July, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee adopted a decision to urge Japan to comprehensively address the "whole history" of the mine complex, including the forced labor, during the Japanese occupation of the Korean Peninsula in 1910-45.

Requesting report

The committee also requested Japan to submit, by Dec 1, 2027, an updated report on the implementation of the recommendations. The 50th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in 2028 will review the report.

The Sado Island Gold Mines in Niigata Prefecture, Japan, were officially inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2024 after South Korea agreed to support Japan's bid on the condition that Tokyo acknowledges and reflects on the full history of the mine complex.

The complex, once a major gold producer between the 17th and 19th centuries, was repurposed during World War II to support the Japanese imperial war effort.

Japan pledged to hold an annual memorial service to honor the workers who suffered at the mines and to hold related exhibitions but refrained from explicitly using terms such as "forced labor" or "coercive nature".

South Korea has held its own memorials near the Sado mine site over the past two years, which were joined by family members of the victims. A separate memorial is also planned for later this year, according to Yonhap.

South Korea's refusal to attend the memorial on Saturday is because of the persistent refusal of the Japanese government to accept the historical truth of Korean forced labor and Tokyo's failure to include it, even in the memorial address, said Kim Jun-hyeok, a lawmaker from the ruling Democratic Party, in a statement posted on his Facebook account on Thursday.

"Japan is trying by any means to erase the word 'forced' from the historical site," said Kim, noting it is a clear attempt to deceive UNESCO and the international community.

"I hope the Japanese government will thoroughly acknowledge the history of the forced mobilization of the Korean people at the Sado mine and offer a sincere apology before the victims and their families," said Kim, urging Japan to keep its promise made at the time of the World Heritage inscription in 2024.

kelly@chinadailyapac.com