1. The government of the Republic of Korea is very disappointed by Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono’s repeated remarks criticizing the ROK Supreme Court’s decision on forced labor victims, including the remark he made on November 14 that the Supreme Court’s ruling fundamentally overturned the legal basis for the ROK-Japan relations.

2. Regarding the recent Supreme Court ruling on forced labor victims (October 30), the ROK government, through two announcements (October 30 and November 7), made it clear that respecting the decision of judicial branch is the foundation of democracy, and said that the government would draw up measures to deal with the issue, comprehensively taking into account various matters.

3. In addition, the ROK government has, through various channels, firmly urged the leaders of the Japanese government to deal with the issue wisely so that the ruling does not cause an obstacle to the future-oriented development of the ROK-Japan relations.

4. The ROK government sternly points out once again that such behavior that the Japanese government continues to show, in spite of the ROK’s efforts, is not at all helpful in resolving the issue.

5. The ROK government also reaffirms that it will unwaveringly continue efforts to advance the ROK-Japan relations in a future-oriented manner, and calls for the Japanese government’s appropriate response.

* unofficial translation