TOKYO: After South Korea’s parliament voted to impeach President Yoon Suk-yeol on Saturday, Japanese government officials raised concerns that the two countries’ ties, which have improved under the Yoon administration, may turn for the worse again if the opposition side takes control of the South Korean government.

Tokyo is set to continue monitoring the South Korean situation closely following the passage of the impeachment motion.

“South Korea is an important neighbor with which Japan needs to cooperate,” Japanese Prime Minister ISHIBA Shigeru told reporters Saturday, before the impeachment vote. “We need to keep in close communication (with South Korea),” he said, adding, “We’re ready to make every effort.”

Under Yoon’s administration, Japan and South Korea improved their relationship after the bilateral ties hit rock bottom under the previous South Korean government.

In March 2023, the Yoon administration announced a measure to resolve wartime labor issues. This helped dramatically turn around the bilateral relations.

Cooperation between Japan and South Korea, and among the two plus the United States became stronger also in the security field, with the three nations starting to share information on ballistic missile launches by North Korea in real time.

Many within the Japanese government praised Yoon, with a senior Foreign Ministry official saying that the South Korean president is “trustworthy” and has “advanced the Japan-South Korean ties with an unwavering will.”

The bilateral relations were frayed under the administration of Yoon’s predecessor, Moon Jae-in. The Moon government backtracked on the 2015 bilateral agreement to resolve the issue of Korean “comfort women,” who provided sex to Japanese troops before and during World War II, and unilaterally decided to withdraw from the General Security of Military Information Agreement, or GSOMIA, between the two nations.

If South Korea’s constitutional court decides to dismiss Yoon, a presidential election will be held.

The Japanese government is wary of the possibility of the launch of a South Korean government led by a president with policies totally different from Yoon’s.

“Japan attaches importance to (its ties with) South Korea,” a Japanese Foreign Ministry official said. “The only thing we can do is to continue saying that cooperation between Japan and South Korea, and among the two plus the United States is important,” the official added.

JIJI Press