This file photo, taken Nov. 25, 2024, shows the bereaved family members of Korean victims of Japan’s wartime forced labor at the Sado mine complex during World War II exploring the interior of the Sado gold and silver mines on Sado Island, off Japan’s west coast. Earlier in the day, they held a memorial ceremony for the victims and boycotted a Japan-hosted event, citing Tokyo’s apparent insincerity in fulfilling its pledge to remember the victims. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, June 30 (Korea Bizwire) — A memorial event honoring Korean victims who were forced to work at an old Japanese mine complex during Japan’s colonial rule of Korea is unlikely to take place in July or August as Japan had promised, a Seoul official said Monday.
Holding such a memorial ceremony for the victims from the Sado mine complex was part of Japan’s pledge when the mines were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in late July of last year. Japan committed to holding the event annually.
“Japan had conveyed their intention to hold the memorial ceremony in July or August,” a foreign ministry official said.
“Last year, the event was inevitably delayed due to the timing of the inscription at the end of July. This year, it appears that holding the ceremony in July or August has also become difficult amid ongoing negotiations,” the official said.
Last year’s inaugural memorial event ended in a dispute between the two countries, as Seoul boycotted the ceremony in Japan, citing Tokyo’s lack of sincerity in honoring the victims. South Korea separately held its own memorial event near the Sado site.
(Yonhap)
