Strong opposition to President Yoon Seok-yeol’s Japan-U.S.-South Korea “closer policy”
August 26, 2023 (Sat) Lee Jung-sun Follow Follow-up On August 18, President Yoon Seok-yeol, President Joe Biden, and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held a summit meeting at Camp David. (Photo: AP/Aflo)
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On August 18, the Japan-U.S.-ROK Trilateral Summit between Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, U.S. President Biden, and South Korean President Yoon Seo-yeol was held at Camp David, a resort for U.S. presidents. Under the “Camp David Principles,” which stipulates that “we are stronger than ever,” an agreement was reached on comprehensive trilateral cooperation, including security, economics, and advanced technology.
In South Korea, the agreement has been hailed as “a new economic community in the Indo-Pacific region,” an “Asian version of NATO,” and a “ROK-U.S.-Japan triangular alliance.” At the same time, there are also concerns about security-related issues with Japan. In particular, the opposition Democratic Party of Korea, which holds an absolute majority in the South Korean National Assembly, expressed its strong opposition to the move, saying, “We should give up the interests of South Korea and the people, and immediately stop the diplomacy that favors only Japan and the United States.”
Opposition party angry at “no return”
Both Democrats’ commentary was full of condemnation. This is the Democratic Party’s first statement immediately after the results of the talks were announced.
“I was forced to do my homework to ‘stand on the front line of pressure on China,’ and came back without mentioning anything about national interests.”
“Because the United States was focused on attacking China on behalf of the United States, exports to China did not find a chance to recover, and the United States deprived South Korea of its future growth engine of semiconductors and batteries, but the government of Yoon Soo-yue received nothing in return. “
They mercilessly attacked President Yoon.
Representative Lee Jae-myung also failed to bring up the issue of the release of treated water from Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant during the meeting, and the U.S. Department of Defense map shows the sea between Japan and South Korea as the “East Sea.” He pointed out that there were no protests against the use of “Japan Sea” instead of “Donghae”, and criticized it for “breaking down diplomacy that prioritizes national interests.”
Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung participates in a demonstration against the release of treated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. Taken on July 7, this year (Photo: Lee Jae Won/Aflo)
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2023-08-25 21:00:00