(Unofficial translation)

Today’s Cabinet Meeting has been convened to decide on the Government’s proposals for next year’s budget and mid-term fiscal plan before they are submitted to the National Assembly.

Japan has eventually implemented its measure to remove Korea from its whitelist. The Japanese Government’s attitude is very regrettable, but we can ably weather this situation. 

Our Government has already put in place fallback plans from various perspectives. We will thoroughly implement the measures that have been prepared to minimize damage to our economy and businesses. Crucially, we will take this as an opportunity to catapult the Korean economy onto a new level by enhancing the competitiveness of manufacturing and other industries. We will also, as a sovereign state, resolutely take steps to respond to Japan’s unwarranted economic retaliation.

Japan must be honest. Japan has yet to even state an honest reason for its economic retaliation. The Japanese Government is trying to rationalize its economic retaliation by baselessly shifting its rhetoric as frequently as necessary. No matter what excuse it invokes as justification, it is clear that the Japanese Government has linked historical issues to economic matters. I have no other choice but to point out that its attitude is very disingenuous.    

Its attitude toward historical issues has been never honest, either. It is an immutable fact that Japan was the perpetrator behind unfortunate chapters of history not only in Korea but also in many other Asian countries. The attitude of the Japanese Government, which neither acknowledges nor repents its past wrongdoings but rather distorts history, only aggravates the wounds and anguish of the victims. Its preposterous claim to Dokdo – the first part of our territory to fall victim to imperial Japan’s aggression – remains unchanged to this day.   

Starting from looking squarely at the past, Japan must cooperate with the world and move toward the future. It is never shameful to remember and reflect on the past. Every country has shameful moments in its history. Korea also has chapters in its history that are sources of shame and self-inflicted, not to mention those tied to foreign powers. However, when we remember and reflect on the past, we can be born-again. Recollection and self-reflection about the past can never be completed. This is not something that can be brought to conclusion just by saying that repentance is over because it was uttered once or that the past is completely over because an agreement was reached once. 

Japan has to take to heart lessons from Germany which has gained trust from the international community by reflecting on its past sincerely, confirming its past wrongdoings as often as needed and reconciling and working together with neighboring European countries.