Ambassador Yoo Heung-soo,

President Kim Yoon of the ROK-Japan Economic Association,

Distinguished Guests,

I am deeply grateful to you for taking time from your busy schedules to be here today.

As you know, next year marks the 60th anniversary of the normalization of ROK-Japan diplomatic relations.

No one would dispute the need to make the most out of this significant year. Yet, meaningful discussions on how to do so have yet to take place.

Perhaps the biggest reason for this is that the domestic political environments of our two countries are not yet stable enough for us to draw a blueprint for the future of our relations, notwithstanding the fact that ROK-Japan relations, which had been on a downward spiral for several years, have been put back on track since last year and is continuing along the path of improved ties.

Upon assuming office in January, I instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to establish a Task Force (T/F) to outline projects to mark the 60th anniversary of the normalization of ROK-Japan relations. Thus far, however, only a rough framework has been developed, and the details have yet to be fleshed out.

To further refine this framework, and to advance specific projects through consultations with Japan based on this framework, we need to pool the wisdom of a broader range of people and shape the atmosphere through social debate in both Korea and Japan.

But before we do so, I would like to briefly look back on the path that ROK-Japan relations have traveled over the past two years since the inauguration of the Yoon Suk Yeol administration.

The Yoon Seok Yeol administration took office at a time when the rules-based international order was beginning to falter greatly against the backdrop of the deepening US-China strategic rivalry and the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. Since its earliest days, the administration has been making multi-faceted efforts to improve ROK-Japan relations under the recognition that restoring ROK-Japan relations is essential to coping wisely with the global polycrisis.

Above all, in order to find a breakthrough on the issue that had long bedeviled bilateral relations, namely, that relating to the ruling on Koreans forced to work, the government put forward the third-party reimbursement solution in March of last year to unlock the gate to improved relations.

This was an act of statesmanship by President Yoon Seok Yeol, not as head of government but as head of state, aimed at untangling the morass brought about by the conflicting rulings of the highest courts of the two countries.

It was a courageous decision made solely in the national interest and for the future of ROK-Japan relations, and not on the basis of political calculus.

As a result, the two countries resumed shuttle diplomacy between the leaders for the first time in 12 years, thereby normalizing their relations and taking a significant step towards the future.

Korea and Japan concurred on the need for a comprehensive solution to pending bilateral issues including Japan's export controls, the removal of Korea from the white list and the termination of GSOMIA that had been triggered by the Korean Supreme Court ruling on the issue of Korean workers who were forcibly mobilized during World War II.

The leaders of the two countries demonstrated their sincere approach to issues of history. In May of last year, Prime Minister Kishida visited Korea and conveyed a message of consolation to the victims who were forcibly mobilized to work. Subsequently, on the margins of the G7 Summit held in Hiroshima, the two leaders visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park together--the first-ever visit of its kind--and paid tribute to a cenotaph honoring Korean victims of the 1945 atomic bombing.

Since last year, Korea and Japan have held seven summit meetings and seven foreign ministers' meetings bilaterally. They also restored, one by one, high-level exchanges that had been suspended for several years and strengthened cooperation and solidarity not only in regards to the Korean Peninsula but also at the regional and global levels.

These efforts to enhance ROK-Japan relations served as a driving force behind the historic ROK-US-Japan Summit at Camp David last August, contributing to establishing an important trilateral cooperation mechanism that braces against security and economic uncertainties in the Indo-Pacific region.

The advances in relations between the two countries have naturally led to tangible results for the people.

A currency swap agreement of $10 billion was concluded between the financial authorities of the two countries and our economic officials are putting their heads together to identify cooperation projects that would bring greater substantive benefits to both countries.

The active assistance provided by our respective governments for the safe return of the other’s nationals from Sudan and Israel, where armed clashes broke out last year, offered a symbolic snapshot of how much ROK-Japan relations have improved.

People-to-people exchanges between the two countries are also becoming more active. The two way flow of people between the two countries reached 9.28 million last year and the figure is expected to exceed 10 million this year--the highest level ever.

Indeed, the positive trend in ROK-Japan relations is also clearly evident in recent opinion poll.

The proportion of respondents who indicated that ROK-Japan relations have improved has more than doubled from the previous year. And the proportion of those who responded that ROK-Japan relations are important reached 74% in ROK and 62% in Japan, pointing to positive changes in public perceptions towards each other.

However, more needs to be done. Korea and Japan are not only valuable partners for each other, but can and must serve as cornerstones of peace and prosperity in Northeast Asia and the Indo-Pacific region more broadly.

Today, when geopolitical disputes on top of the North Korean nuclear issue are erupting almost by the day around the world, the future-oriented development of ROK-Japan relations has never been more urgently in need.

It is high time to take the longer view and a deeper breath as we envisage the future of ROK-Japan relations and prepare for the 60th anniversary of the normalization of our bilateral diplomatic relations.

Now is the time for the people of Korea and Japan to deeply reflect on why they have not been able to bring about the kind of reconciliation that France and Germany, and Germany and Poland, have respectively achieved.

Korea and Japan already have between them historic milestones such as the Joint Declaration on a New Korea-Japan Partnership for the 21st century announced by President Kim Dae-Jung and Prime Minister Obuchi Keizo in 1998.

As a result of this declaration, millions of young Koreans and Japanese have been able to promote bonds of friendship through mutual visits, and this has had a formative impact on the Third Korean Wave in Japan today.

Since then, a generation has passed. Only half a year left until the 60th anniversary of ROK-Japan diplomatic relations, we must once again prepare a vision to present to the younger generations of our two countries.

Above all, we need to carefully take stock of how the domestic and international environments have changed between 1998 and 2025.

The international community has moved beyond the post-Cold War era and has entered a chaotic post-post-Cold War period where uncertainty and  instability prevail.

North Korea, which is further advancing its nuclear and missile capabilities and taking an adversarial approach to inter-Korean relations, has become a far greater threat to security on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia.

The war in Ukraine and the armed conflict in the Middle East are shaking the rules-based international order to its core, seriously jeopardizing world peace and security.

As US-China strategic rivalry moves full steam ahead, East Asia is undergoing tectonic geopolitical shifts. And the accelerating formation of blocs into liberal and authoritarian camps is making it difficult to engage in diplomacy where values and interests could be pursued in isolation.

In the era of what we call economic security, where economy, technology, and security are increasingly intertwined, it is even more difficult to separate our diplomacy into economic and security spheres.

Both Korea and Japan are also facing together new challenges that are coming to the fore, such as supply chain disruptions, climate change, low birth rates and aging populations.

In the face of this global poly-crises, cooperation between our two countries with shared values and interests is not a matter of choice but a necessity.

As the only two Asian members of the OECD and as neighbors with shared values, Korea and Japan have a responsibility to contribute to stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region as well as to pool their strengths to tackle a wide range of global issues.

We must not forget that we are key partners who must cooperate and stand alongside each other in the new geopolitical environment.

[60th anniversary of diplomatic ties]

In that sense, the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic ties between Korea and Japan next year should mark another important milestone in seeking a fresh start in our bilateral relations.

In his March 1st Independence Movement Day speech, President Yoon Seok Yeol stated that if Korea and Japan build trust through exchanges and cooperation and work together to solve the difficult legacy issues of history, we can open a new chapter in the Korea-Japan relations.

He also expressed his hope that the 60th anniversary of will be an opportunity to take our relationship to a higher level towards a more productive and constructive relationship.

As we enter ‘이순’(a time when Confucius said that his ear was an obedient organ for the reception of truth), Korea and Japan must now seek a path towards more mature good-neighborly relations for the next 60 years.

To this end, what is most important is to prevent the hard-won momentum for improvement in our relations from being stymied and to do so by understanding each other and cherishing and managing the relationship.  

The opinion poll results cited earlier provide important insights in this regard.

When asked whether they believe the advances in ROK-Japan relations will continue, only 29% of Koreans and 39% of Japanese responded positively, showing that views are relatively pessimistic.

This suggests that the two countries need to work carefully together to put ROK-Japan on a more stable footing and that extra care is called for to ensure that goodwill towards each other can be sustained.

In addition to various sensitive issues stemming from the past, we must also stably manage and wisely overcome newly-emerging challenges in the era of economic security and mobilize our collective wisdom to ensure that our peoples can feel the real benefits of improved ROK-Japan relations.

The more domestic political conditions circumscribe the room for maneuver of both governments, the more urgent it is for us to endeavor to understand each other and appreciate the other side's perspective.

Politicians, journalists, and business people--and not just the two governments--should all be on board these efforts as well, recognizing that we are all in the same boat.

As US Senator Vandenberg, who led the bipartisan consensus on US strategy towards the Soviet Union in the early years of the Cold War, famously said, "Politics must stop at the water’s edge."

We must pay heed to the views of the younger generation who will be responsible for the future of our ties as we prepare for a new era of Korea-Japan relations that rises above the past and looks to the future.

The Foreign Ministry will also do its utmost to come up with creative and practicable options that lead to a new turning point. We look to you for your insights and unstinting advice.

Thank you.