Seoul cancels Japan’s embassy building

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April 11, 2019

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Seoul cancels Japan’s embassy building

Source: AFP | 00:05 UTC+8 April 11, 2019 |

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Authorities in Seoul have canceled the permit for a new Japanese embassy building citing construction delays, local officials said yesterday, with relations between South Korea and Japan strained by historical disputes.

Ties between the neighbors have remained icy for years due to bitter rows stemming from Japan’s brutal 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.

A statue of a “comfort woman” symbolizing the Korean women forced to work in Japanese military brothels during World War II stands across the road from the embassy plot. Since 1992 campaigners have held weekly rallies at the site to demand a “full, heartfelt apology” for wartime sex slavery from Tokyo.

The 1,382th such gathering took place yesterday with activists surrounding the statue. The previous embassy building was demolished some years ago but city authorities gave permission for a new six-story building in 2015.

Yet construction, which under South Korean law must start within a year of a permit being received, was repeatedly delayed.

Japan argues that the “comfort women” statue is against the 2015 bilateral agreement, under which Tokyo offered an apology and a 1-billion-yen (US$9 million) payment.

But South Korean President Moon Jae-in said last year that the deal had been signed by his ousted predecessor Park Geun-hye without consulting the Korean victims and disbanded a foundation set up with the Japanese funds.

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Seoul cancels Japan’s embassy building

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