South Korea to hold solo commemoration for Korean victims of Sado mine forced labour next week

Seoul, Nov 13 South Korea will hold its own memorial ceremony next week to honour Korean victims forced into labour at a Japanese mine complex during Japan's colonial rule over Korea, the foreign ministry said Thursday.

This year's memorial, set for next Friday, is the second such event South Korea is hosting separately from the one organised by Japan as Seoul and Tokyo could not come to an agreement on ways to hold a joint ceremony.

South Korea boycotted the event hosted by Japan last year, citing Japan's lack of sincerity in honoring the victims, including its apparent rejection to reflect their sufferings and the nature of forced labour in the memorial speech, Yonhap News Agency reported.

The South Korea-led memorial event will take place in the Sado city, Niigata Prefecture, led by South Korean Ambassador to Japan Lee Hyuk, the foreign ministry said in a release.

The government will invite some 11 family members of the victims to the event, which will be followed by visits to former forced labour sites in remembrance of the victims, a foreign ministry official said.

The event is expected to be held indoors, unlike last year's ceremony, which took place outdoors.

"Although we were unable to reach a satisfactory conclusion this year, we will continue talks with the Japanese side to ensure that the memorial ceremony is held in a manner that meets its purpose and nature," ministry spokesperson Lee Jae-woong said in a press briefing.

Japan has pledged to hold the memorial event annually when the Sado mines were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in July 2024.

The Sado mines, once famous as a gold mine between the 17th and 19th centuries, were mainly used to produce war supplies for the Japanese imperial army during World War II. More than 1,500 Koreans are reported to have been forced into labour at the mines from 1940-45.

Japan held its own Sado memorial ceremony in September.

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