The leader of South Korean main opposition People Power Party, Lee Jun-seok told the Kyodo news agency on Tuesday that he would make protracted issues in relations with Japan a priority if the party's candidate for presidency wins the election in March 9, 2022.
Former South Korean Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl was nominated for presidency on Friday, after winning in the party's primaries.
Lee said that the 60-year old nominee would be more actively engaged in the negotiations with Japan than incumbent President Moon Jae-in's administration, once Yoon presents the case correctly to the public. A new diplomatic course, Lee says, should be launched in May, when a new administration takes office.
The opposition leader added that diplomatic ties must transcend court rulings, in an allusion to the country's top court ordering Japanese companies in 2018 to payout compensations to South Korean plaintiffs over forced work for Tokyo during World War II, which led to a sharp deterioration in the bilateral relations.
Japan insists that all the claims connected with the colonial rule 1910-1945 on the Korean Peninsula were settled by a 1965 bilateral agreement. (ANI/Sputnik)
( With inputs from ANI )
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