Permit for new Japanese Embassy building in Seoul canceled

April 10, 2019

Seoul--The construction permit for a new Japanese embassy building in Seoul has been revoked, informed sources said Wednesday.

The permit was canceled on March 4, said an official at Seoul's Jongno district, where the embassy is located.

The embassy had been asked to start full-scale construction work, but no response came, the official said.

In 2015, the embassy relocated to a nearby building to rebuild the old one. The new building was scheduled to be completed in 2020, but construction work has been halted.

An embassy official said, "We will review and adjust our construction plans by considering various circumstances."

The Chosun Ilbo, a major South Korean daily, said that the construction delay may be a show of Tokyo's displeasure with Seoul's handling of a statue of a girl symbolizing so-called comfort women built near the embassy.

A protest rally is held near the Japanese embassy every Wednesday by supporters of Korean comfort women, who were forced to serve as wartime prostitutes for Japanese troops.

Under an accord reached with Japan in late 2015, South Korea agreed to make efforts to resolve the statue issue through talks with related groups, but it is unclear whether the statue will be removed. Jiji Press