Main opposition to request parliamentary probe into Yoon-Kishida summit next week

SEOUL, March 24 (Yonhap) -- The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) said Friday it will submit a request next week to open a parliamentary investigation into a recent summit between President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

The summit was aimed at mending frayed ties with Japan, but it triggered a backlash in South Korea because it took place after South Korea decided that its companies would compensate victims of Japan's wartime forced labor, not Japanese firms.

Rep. Park Hong-keun, floor leader of the DP, said, "The people view the Yoon Suk Yeol government's diplomacy as a complete failure."

Park said the DP will uncover the truth about suspicions that the Yoon administration put the national interest at risk, as well as the lives, stability and economy of the people, during last week's summit with Kishida.

Criticism of the summit intensified after Japanese news outlets reported that unannounced topics were also discussed between Yoon and Kishida, such as the issue of South Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo, Japan's wartime sexual slavery and Seoul's import ban on fisheries products from Japan's Fukushima.

Yoon's office has expressed regret to Japan, calling the reports "distorted," and said it cannot disclose the details of the summit discussions. Nonetheless, the office said the issues of wartime sexual slavery and Dokdo were not discussed during the summit.

DP Chairman Lee Jae-myung also said the party cannot turn a blind eye to the suspicions, especially the issue of importing Fukushima seafood as it is "directly related to people's lives."

Seoul has banned all seafood imports from the Fukushima area since 2013 due to concerns over their radiation levels following the 2011 Fukushima nuclear power plant meltdown.

nyway@yna.co.kr
(END)