Minister under fire for flawed perception of Dokdo
Controversy surfaces after ministry slammed for incorrect description in military materials
Defense Minister Shin Won-sik is facing criticism for his past remarks describing the nation’s easternmost islets of Dokdo as “disputed territory,” which critics claim reflects a distorted view of history.
“It is true that there are ongoing historical disputes, and territorial disputes regarding sovereignty over Dokdo between Korea and Japan,” Shin wrote in a Facebook post dated March 23, 2023, when he was a ruling People Power Party (PPP) lawmaker.
This view contradicts the official stance of the Korean government that the nation has long maintained effective territorial control of Dokdo — which Japan claims is its own territory — and therefore, there is no territorial dispute over the islets.
Shin further criticized liberal politicians for fueling anti-Japanese sentiment based on “outdated anitowards mosity the long-gone Imperial Japanese militarism.”
The Facebook post is currently hidden following several media reports about it.
In response to criticism that Korea’s top defense official seems to hold a pro-Japanese perspective, the defense ministry refuted that Shin has never sided with Tokyo’s territorial claim over Dokdo.
“The expressions on social media during his period as a lawmaker regarding the Dokdo sovereignty dispute conveyed the meaning that Japan is attempting to make territorial claims … During the confirmation hearing as the minister nominee, he stressed that strong protests should be made against Japan’s territorial claims,” the ministry said in a statement, Wednesday.
The defense ministry added that it has lodged a strong protest against Japan for including Dokdo in a tsunami advisory issued by its weather agency earlier this week.
The controversy over Shin’s Facebook post surfaced about a week after his ministry was slammed for similar descriptions of Dokdo in its educational materials for soldiers.
The “Moral Strength Education Textbook” published in December
stipulated that “regional powers surrounding the Korean Peninsula such as China, Russia and Japan are engaging in territorial disputes involving the Dokdo islets, the Kuril Islands and the Senkaku Islands, which may easily lead to a military conflict.”
The defense ministry decided to recall all 20,000 copies of the textbooks, apologizing for the mistake.
The Heritage of Korean Independence (HKI), a Seoul-based organization tasked with upholding the spirit of independence, denounced
the defense ministry, labeling its textbook as “insane.”
“The insane textbook seems to be a reflection of the minister’s distorted view on history and the identity of the military,” it said in a statement, Monday.
The organization also pointed at Shin’s past pro-Japan remarks.
During a speech at an anti-Moon Jae-in government rally in August 2019, Shin seemingly justified the actions of Lee Wan-yong (18581926), a pro-Japan politician who signed the Korea-Japan annexation treaty of 1910.
“Even if the Korean Empire had resisted (against Japan’s annexation), the significant imbalance of power between Japan and Korea would have made it very difficult to maintain independence. While Lee Wan-yong was a collaborator, it is also a fact that there were unavoidable aspects to his actions,” he said.
“It is true that there are ongoing historical disputes, and territorial disputes regarding sovereignty over Dokdo between Korea and Japan.”
— in Defense Minister Shin Won-sik’s March 23, 2023 Facebook post