Former Korean Ambassador to Japan Shin Kak-soo poses at a cafe in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on Aug. 12, during an interview with The Korea Times. Korea Times photo by Do Je-hae
This is the first in a series of interviews with political experts and experienced analysts assessing the impact of the ongoing South Korea-Japan trade row after Tokyo removed Seoul from its list of trusted trading partners receiving preferential treatment in exports. ― ED.
By Do Je-hae
Former Korean Ambassador to Japan Shin Kak-soo has cautioned against some calls to scrap a military information-sharing pact with Japan as a response to a series of trade restrictions imposed on Seoul since early July.
Seoul is expected to announce its position on extending the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) later this week before it expires on Aug. 24. "GSOMIA has a huge symbolic implication," Shin said during a recent interview with The Korea Times. "It is an important component of the Korea-U.S.-Japan system of crisis management on the Korean Peninsula."
The former top envoy to Japan underlined that Korea needs the pact more than Japan. "Japan has more confidential military information on the Korean Peninsula than Korea," he said. He stressed that they have more advanced equipment that processes accurate information on North Korea's continued provocations. There has been speculation that Seoul has raised the possibility of repealing GSOMIA as a way of getting U.S. attention in the Korea-Japan conflict. "If the decision to scrap GSOMIA is actually made, however, it will be a suicidal move."
The remarks came amid some criticisms against the Moon Jae-in administration's response to the trade feud with Japan, which is rooted in a long-running bilateral conflict over the two countries' shared history. Tokyo has cited the need for stricter export management and security concerns in justifying its recent trade restrictions on Seoul, but President Moon Jae-in and many Koreans view them as "economic retaliation" for 2018 Supreme Court rulings that ordered Japanese companies to compensate surviving South Korean victims of wartime forced labor during the Japanese colonial rule. "From the Japanese perspective, this is unacceptable," Shin said. Tokyo continues to claim that the 1965 Korea-Japan treaty settled all colonial-era compensation completely and permanently.
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