Seoul, Jan. 20 (BNA): The South Korean Foreign Ministry summoned a Japanese embassy official in Seoul on Friday to file a formal protest against Tokyo’s move to a UNESCO World Heritage site-linked mine linked to wartime forced labor of Koreans. .
The day before, the Japanese government submitted a letter of recommendation again to UNESCO to list the former gold mine on Sado Island, after describing the initial version, which was delivered last February, as incomplete, Yonhap news agency reported.
Second Deputy Foreign Minister Lee Do-hoon summoned Daisuke Namioka, Minister of Economic Affairs of the Japanese Embassy. It was known that Ambassador Koichi Ibushi was visiting Japan.
The ministry’s spokesperson, Lim Soo-suk, also issued a statement expressing “regret” over Japan’s crackdown.
He added that Seoul will continue to work with UNESCO to ensure that the histories, including the traumatic ones associated with forced wartime labor, of Japan’s existing Industrial Revolution heritage sites are properly recorded and displayed in the future.
South Korea strongly protested Japan’s endeavor, saying thousands of Koreans were forced to work hard at the mine during World War II.