SEOUL, April 25, 2023 (BSS/AFP) - South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol was
in hot water Tuesday after comments he made about former colonial power Japan
not needing to "kneel down" to improve ties went viral on social media.

Yoon, who is on a six-day state visit to the United States, has made boosting
relations with Tokyo a key plank of his administration's policy as he seeks
to increase regional security cooperation in the face of rising threats from
North Korea.

Bilateral ties were long strained by lingering issues linked to Tokyo's
brutal 1910 to 1945 colonial rule over the Korean peninsula -- including
sexual slavery and forced labour -- even as Washington has repeatedly urged
its two key regional allies to boost cooperation.

Yoon told The Washington Post ahead of his trip that he could not accept the
idea that Japan "must kneel because of our history 100 years ago" if ties
between the two countries were to be improved.

The comments -- including the hashtag #mustkneel -- quickly became a top
trending topic on Korean language social media and Twitter, and prompted wall
to wall coverage in mainstream media.

Yoon's office said Tuesday that the president had meant "he can't accept the
claim that improving relations with Japan is impossible unless they kneel
down in a time of great need for security alliance," a presidential aide told
reporters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"It is foolish to render the entire history of exchange and cooperating --
dating 1,500 years -- meaningless because of an unfortunate history spanning
less than 50 years," the aide said.

Seoul unveiled a plan in February to compensate victims of Japan's wartime
forced labour without Tokyo's direct involvement, which has enraged some
victims.

The victims and their lawyers say the Yoon government's proposal falls far
short of their demand for a full apology and direct compensation from the
Japanese companies involved.

"His comment is problematic itself. What we are asking is a sincere apology,"
said one YouTube commentator.

Europe was able to cooperate together "only after Germany had atoned
sincerely over a long period of time. Has Japan done the same?" another
wrote.