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Since South Korea's current president, Yoon Suk-yeol, came to power, the South Korean government has repeatedly broken the bottom line of diplomacy and done many things that have shocked the international community.
In order to practice his pro-American and pro-Japanese diplomatic line, Yoon Suk-yeol did not hesitate to compromise with Japan again on the issue of workers' compensation.
In fact, this is not the first time that South Korea has compromised with Japan on this issue. For this practice of the South Korean government, the South Korean people are also full of complaints, and accusations against the Yoon Suk-yeol government can be heard everywhere.
So, against this backdrop, why did South Korea compromise with Japan?
To answer this question, we have to talk about the "chip trade war" between Japan and South Korea......
Workers' compensation issues in Japan and South Korea
During World War II, Japan forcibly took a large number of young men from the Korean Peninsula to work as laborers. Since the beginning of Japan's occupation of the Korean Peninsula, Japan has taken about 350,000 laborers from the region.
Most of these laborers taken by the Japanese invaders died in foreign lands, and many of them did not even have a single intact skeleton left.
However, in the face of such unforgettable hatred, the South Korean government has chosen "reconciliation". As early as the last century, when former South Korean President Park Chung-hee was in power, the South Korean government reached a settlement with the Japanese government on the issue of labor compensation.
According to the agreement signed at that time, the Japanese government only needed to pay a sum of compensation to the South Korean government to settle this historical grudge between the two countries.
Despite the so-called understanding between Park Chung-hee's military junta and the Japanese side, it is clear that democratic groups and representatives of the South Korean civil society do not intend to stop there. In the decades that followed, the issue of compensation for Korean workers continued to be raised from time to time.
Although the South Korean government has tried to "advise" civil society groups on this matter, the effect has not been obvious.
As South Korea's political situation continues to change, figures representing left-wing political forces have also moved into the heart of power. These people reversed the previous understanding agreement signed between Park Chung-hee and the Japanese government, announced that they would continue to seek compensation from the Japanese government, and demanded a public apology.
At the same time, the territorial dispute between South Korea and Japan has become more and more intense, and the anti-Japanese sentiment among the Korean people has also risen rapidly.
Because of this, Japan immediately introduced a lot of economic restrictive measures against South Korea, which made South Korea's economy fall into a trough in an instant. As a result, it is very natural for the public to express their dissatisfaction with the economic policies of the South Korean government.
For successive South Korean governments, solving economic problems has always been the top priority of governance. For the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, it is no exception.
In order to completely solve the economic difficulties faced by South Korea, Yoon Suk-yeol once again set his sights on the issue of workers' compensation between Japan and South Korea.
He decided to lead South Korea to make another compromise with Japan in exchange for the survival of South Korea's core industries in the international market.
Yoon Suk-yeol compromised with Japan
In March 2023, the Yoon Suk-yeol government announced an explosive news to South Korean society: the South Korean government has reached an agreement with the Japanese government to allow the Japanese government to compensate South Korean laborers forcibly recruited during World War II.
However, according to the provisions of the article, these compensation payments from Japan were paid in advance by some Korean companies. In other words, Korean companies helped the Japanese repay the compensation they should have paid to the victims of labor problems.
As the incident sounded so outrageous, a wave of protests against the Yoon Suk-yeol government immediately erupted in South Korea, and Lee Jae-myung, who represents left-wing political forces, publicly criticized the Yoon Suk-yeol government's capitulation policy.
But Yoon Suk-yeol also has a reason to do so, because if he wants to boost South Korea's economic growth, he must save South Korea's chip manufacturing industry. The premise of saving South Korea's chip manufacturing industry is to improve the relationship between South Korea and Japan.
As we all know, South Korea is a big chip manufacturing country, and Samsung and SK hynix have become the world's leading chip manufacturing companies, but these two companies are heavily dependent on Japan for chip raw materials.
In other words, if Japanese companies refuse to provide South Korea with the raw materials needed to make chips, Samsung and SK hynix's chip production lines will not be able to start up normally, and South Korea's economy will naturally be affected.
Unlike populous countries such as China and India, South Korea simply cannot reap economic growth opportunities through the development of labor-intensive industries. They can only hug the thighs of Samsung and a few high-tech companies, and pin all their hopes on these companies.
From this point of view, it seems that Yoon Suk-yeol does have a "legitimate reason" to compromise with Japan.
But if Yoon really thinks that he can save South Korea's chipmaking industry by currying favor with Japan, then he is very wrong.
Falling Tai Chi flags
As Yoon Suk-yeol's predecessor, Park Chung-hee successfully contributed to the famous miracle of the Han River after clearing all external obstacles.
Such feats also made Park Chung-hee the most famous president in South Korean history.
Perhaps Yoon Suk-yeol wants to emulate Park Chung-hee and make himself famous in history, but he completely ignores the background of his own times.
Because developing countries such as China are gradually rising, this era is no longer just the era of South Korea, Japan, and the United States.
Since 2016, the United States has launched an all-round and blind spot technology war against China. After the Biden administration took office, the U.S. technology war against China has further escalated.
According to the requirements of the United States to the Netherlands, South Korea, Japan and other countries, these countries are not allowed to export chip products to China without authorization, otherwise their actions will seriously damage the alliance between the United States and them.
There are even foreign media that the United States plans to ask the Dutch company ASML to stop after-sales maintenance services for Chinese chip products. It can be seen that the United States and the West are going to do everything possible to suppress China's chip manufacturing industry.
However, China's chip manufacturing industry is still like a dark horse, even to the surprise of US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi made it clear in a phone call with the ROK that the Chinese side hopes that the ROK will work in the same direction with the Chinese government and not continue to do things that damage the relations and interests of the two countries. We also hope that South Korea will make a rational choice in the context of today's times.
Foreign Minister Wang Yi's remarks are actually very clear: China does not rule out cooperation with the ROK in various fields. However, the premise of cooperation between the two countries is that South Korea must face up to its own situation and international status, and view the relationship between China and South Korea from a friendly and equal perspective.
At present, many Chinese technology companies have broken through key chip technologies, and it is only a matter of time before China's technology industry completely surpasses European and American countries.
Frankly speaking, the best option for South Korea at present is to put aside its prejudices against China and promote friendly cooperation between the two sides. China, as the world's factory, can completely replace Japan's position in South Korea's chip supply chain.
More importantly, both China and South Korea have a history of aggression by Japan, and we can empathize with the suffering of the Korean people.
As a right-wing politician in South Korea, Yoon Suk-yeol has too narrow vision. There is obviously a better solution, but Yoon Suk-yeol just turns a deaf ear and has to do things that offend all Koreans.
Such an act by the Yoon Suk-yeol government will not only ignite the anger of the vast majority of South Korean people, but also make the chip manufacturing industry, on which South Koreans rely for their livelihood, completely lose its space for development and enter a dead end with no light in sight.
Judging from the reaction of South Koreans to the Yoon Suk-yeol government, many people's dissatisfaction with the Yoon Suk-yeol government has reached its peak. Voices asking Yoon Suk-yeol to pack up as soon as possible and hand over power have also come and gone.
Against the backdrop of the rising rise of developing countries around the world, South Korea's choice is somewhat anachronistic. But this does not seem to be a matter for the president of South Korea to decide alone, and the US military stationed on South Korean soil is constantly reminding South Koreans who the real masters of this land are.
Since the founding of the Republic of Korea, the Taiji Flag, which Koreans are proud of, has always been shrouded in the shadow of the Stars and Stripes. Even South Korea must follow in the footsteps of the United States. Many Koreans may be resentful of this, but they can often only sigh helplessly.
Bibliography:
South Korea announced a compensation plan for World War II workers, and Korean netizens scolded: Why are there so many pro-Japanese traitors!
The Japanese foreign minister had a telephone conversation with the South Korean foreign minister to ask for a proper response to the verdict in the South Korean World War II labor case