President Lee tells Japan to act like big nation

President Lee Myung-bak

President Lee Myung-bak said Monday that his Friday visit to Dokdo was part of his duty as head of state, and he had planned the trip three years ago.

President Lee also called on Japan to act like a big nation and take responsibility for its past misdeeds.

Speaking at luncheon with a National Assembly delegation at Cheong Wa Dae, Lee stressed it was only Japan that can resolve such touchy history issues as the victims of sex slavery during World War II.

“Japan is a big country and can do that easily. However, it is reluctant to do so mainly because of domestic politics,” presidential spokesman Park Jeong-ha quoted Lee as saying.

Participating in the luncheon were National Assembly speaker Kang Chang-hee, and vice speakers Lee Byung-suk and Park Byeong-seug.

Lee disclosed the frustration he harbored when he met Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda in Kyoto last December for a summit. The talks took place days after Korean activists put up the statue of a girl in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul to mark the 1,000th rally against the Japanese army’s wartime sex slavery.

Noda was quoted as having requested Lee to order the statue removed as it angered the Japanese people.

President Lee said at that time he had talked for more than an hour to persuade his counterpart but his effort went in vain.

Lee indicated the frustrating moment later prompted him to make the surprise visit to Dokdo last Friday.

President Lee noted he initially planned to stay a night on the islets but decided to return to Seoul the same day because of bad weather.

He was further quoted as saying that he believed Japan is no longer what it used to be when it comes to its influence in the international community.

Earlier in the day, Cheong Wa Dae stressed that President Lee’s visit to the easternmost islets of Dokdo near the Ulleung Island was not a signal of a shift of South Korea’s policy toward Japan.

“The two things are separate, and there is no link between them,” spokesman Park told reporters during a regular briefing. “There will be no shift in South Korea’s stance on Japan.”

“It was a part of a provincial tour,” he said.

Park noted President Lee had planned the visit for a long time, denying some reports that it was carelessly designed and an impromptu idea. Lee is the first South Korean leader to set foot on the islets.

This came days after Japan recalled its ambassador to South Korea and summoned Shin Kak-soo, the South Korean ambassador to Japan, in protest.

Prime Minister Noda said President Lee’s Dokdo trip was “unacceptable.”

Koichiro Gemba, the foreign minister of Japan, said Tokyo was mulling referring the Dokdo issue to the International Court of Justice. <The Korea Times/Kang Hyun-kyung>

news@theasian.asia