The Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs is currently surveying victims and bereaved families who will attend the memorial service for Korean forced laborers at the Sado Gold Mine in Japan through the Foundation for the Support of Victims of Forced Mobilization during the Japanese Colonial Period. Despite agreeing to the entry of the Sado Gold Mine into UNESCO’s World Cultural Heritage list without the term “forced labor,” South Korea is now facing criticism for being too passive in persuading Japan to provide the list. The Foundation quickly handed over a list of 10 victims and family members to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with harassment at Japan’s delay in providing the list.
Despite an agreement between Korea and Japan for a memorial service for Korean laborers forcibly mobilized to the Sado Gold Mine, Japan has not fulfilled its promise. The Japanese government continues to be uncooperative in providing the list of Koreans mobilized to the Sado Gold Mine. Calls for stronger diplomatic measures from the South Korean government are intensifying, as Japan’s refusal to provide the list remains a major obstacle to the memorial service.