S.Korean opposition parties object to initialing of military pact with Japan

South Korea's main opposition parties Monday expressed strong objections to the government's "unilateral" attempt to initial a military intelligence pact with Japan, saying they will push the resignation or impeachment of defense minister if the initialing actually happens.


Rep. Woo Sang-ho, floor leader of the main opposition Minjoo Party, told a supreme council meeting that if the initialing actually occurs, his party will go into a procedure to let Defense Minster Han Min-koo step down or be impeached.

Defense and diplomatic officials from South Korea and Japan are scheduled to hold their third working-level meeting in Tokyo in the afternoon to initial a bilateral military accord to share intelligence on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

The two sides resumed such talks on Nov. 1 in Tokyo after a botched attempt four years ago, and held the second meeting in Seoul last Wednesday, agreeing to initial the pact on Monday despite parliamentary and public objections.

Former President Lee Myung-bak attempted to sign the military pact with Japan in June 2012, but it failed at the last minutes amid public outcry over the hurried, closed-door deal without any social consensus and parliamentary consultations.

Many South Koreans still see such a deal with Japan as unacceptable as the Japanese leadership has yet to sincerely apologize for its militaristic history. The country was colonized by the Imperial Japan between 1910 and 1945.

The Park Geun-hye administration, which is grappling with the president's confidante scandal, is repeating the hush-hush attempt to sign the deal without any social consensus as public attention is being centered on the scandal involving Park's decades-long friend and key former aides.

The Minjoo Party floor leader said that over 1 million people took to the streets to express anger over the Park government's unilateral management and failure in state affairs, urging the embattled president not to go against the public sentiment.

Over the weekend, over 1 million South Korean rallied in central Seoul to demand Park's resignation. It was the largest mass rally since June 1987 when some 1 million people protested against the military dictatorship.

Park Jie-won, floor leader of the minor People's Party, told a party meeting that he will meet with floor leaders of the Minjoo Party and another minor opposition Justice Party to discuss the defense minister's resignation or impeachment.

He added that the three main opposition parties already announced their intention to propose the resignation of the defense minister if the initialing actually happens.

South Korea's foreign ministry already asked the legislative office to be deliberate on the military pact's legality. If necessary internal procedures are passed smoothly, the deal is forecast to be formally inked in late November.
[Xinhua/globaltimes.cn]
14/11/16

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