South Korean PM seeks President Moon’s letter to Abe

October 18, 2019

Seoul--South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon has urged President Moon Jae-in to consider writing a letter to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, in a bid to seek a thaw in the strained ties between the two countries, it was learned Friday.

Lee is set to visit Japan for three days from Tuesday to attend Japanese Emperor Naruhito's "Sokuirei-Seiden-no-Gi" enthronement proclamation ceremony that day.

With work under way to arrange a meeting between Lee and Abe on Thursday morning, Lee may pass the president's personal letter to the Japanese leader, a source at the South Korean prime minister's office said.

But the source quickly added that no decision has been made yet on whether the prime minister would bring such a letter.

A source at the presidential office declined to assure that Moon will write the letter.

Lee, a former Tokyo correspondent of the Dong-A Ilbo, a major South Korean daily, is one of a few Moon administration members well-versed on Japan. He has served as vice chairman of a group of South Korean lawmakers promoting relations with Japan.

Lee was tasked with coordinating the government's response to a ruling by the Supreme Court last year ordering a Japanese company to compensate South Korean plaintiffs for what they claimed to be forced labor during World War II.

After the Japanese government tightened its export controls on South Korea in July, Lee repeatedly demanded that the trade measure be rescinded.

Following Seoul's decision in August to scrap the Japan-South Korea military information sharing pact, he suggested the decision can be reconsidered depending on Japan's response, calling for dialogue to find a solution.

During his upcoming Japan visit, Lee is scheduled to visit Shin-Okubo Station on the JR Yamanote Line in Tokyo also on Tuesday to honor the memory of a South Korean student who died after being hit by a train there while trying to rescue a man in 2001. Jiji Press