Minister of Foreign Affairs Yun Byung-se (62, photo), who had received the favor of the incumbent government as the head of foreign affairs since the inauguration of President Park Geun-hye, is facing a crisis with the South Korea-Japan agreement on the comfort women issue. The victims have clearly announced their opposition to the latest agreement, and public opinion is quickly turning its back on the government. Thus the arrow is now pointing at Yun, who oversaw and supervised the negotiations.
In particular, the Deobureo Minjudang, the main opposition, declared the latest agreement invalid, demanding an apology from President Park Geun-hye and holding Yun responsible. Floor leader Lee Jong-kul announced the party's plans to aggressively respond to the issue by adopting a resolution condemning the agreement and by submitting a request for Yun's dismissal.
When the public criticized the government for unilaterally signing an agreement without asking the thoughts of the comfort women victims in the process of the negotiation, Yun belatedly embarked on persuading the victims. But instead of personally visiting the victims as the supervisor of the negotiations, he sent his vice ministers, earning criticism as the "minister hiding behind the vice minister."
First Vice Minister Lim Sung-nam and Second Vice Minister Cho Tae-yul respectively visited the Korean Council for the Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan and their shelter on December 29 and sought the understanding of the comfort women victims. The two explained how the latest agreement was inevitable along with its significance, but were met with harsh resistance and criticism from the elderly victims.
During that time, Yun visited the National Assembly and asked Na Kyung-won, chairperson of the parliamentary Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, for the National Assembly's cooperation in persuading the public to accept the latest agreement. One anonymous diplomatic source said, "In a situation where the government belatedly sought the understanding of the already angry victims, the person in charge of the negotiations, the minister should have gone."
In a luncheon meeting with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs press on December 30, Yun seemed to be aware of such criticism for he said, "It (the comfort women negotiations) is one of the most difficult issues. We need to take into consideration our limits. If we don't look at this issue with these restrictions in mind, we cannot fully understand the significance." Yun also stressed, "It is important that the agreement is faithfully and quickly implemented and I hope this provides an opportunity for trust between the two countries to enter a virtuous cycle. The effort of both countries is important."
In particular, the Deobureo Minjudang, the main opposition, declared the latest agreement invalid, demanding an apology from President Park Geun-hye and holding Yun responsible. Floor leader Lee Jong-kul announced the party's plans to aggressively respond to the issue by adopting a resolution condemning the agreement and by submitting a request for Yun's dismissal.
When the public criticized the government for unilaterally signing an agreement without asking the thoughts of the comfort women victims in the process of the negotiation, Yun belatedly embarked on persuading the victims. But instead of personally visiting the victims as the supervisor of the negotiations, he sent his vice ministers, earning criticism as the "minister hiding behind the vice minister."
First Vice Minister Lim Sung-nam and Second Vice Minister Cho Tae-yul respectively visited the Korean Council for the Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan and their shelter on December 29 and sought the understanding of the comfort women victims. The two explained how the latest agreement was inevitable along with its significance, but were met with harsh resistance and criticism from the elderly victims.
During that time, Yun visited the National Assembly and asked Na Kyung-won, chairperson of the parliamentary Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, for the National Assembly's cooperation in persuading the public to accept the latest agreement. One anonymous diplomatic source said, "In a situation where the government belatedly sought the understanding of the already angry victims, the person in charge of the negotiations, the minister should have gone."
In a luncheon meeting with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs press on December 30, Yun seemed to be aware of such criticism for he said, "It (the comfort women negotiations) is one of the most difficult issues. We need to take into consideration our limits. If we don't look at this issue with these restrictions in mind, we cannot fully understand the significance." Yun also stressed, "It is important that the agreement is faithfully and quickly implemented and I hope this provides an opportunity for trust between the two countries to enter a virtuous cycle. The effort of both countries is important."
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