Memorial service for all workers at the Sado Island Gold Mine to be held on the 24th - Why is the Korean side anxious?

In connection with the "Sado Island Gold Mine" in Sado City, Niigata Prefecture, which was registered as a World Heritage Site in July this year, a memorial event for all workers, including former members of the Korean Peninsula, who died in the gold mine will be held on the 24th of this month.
The Korean government initially opposed the inscription of the site, claiming that Koreans had been forced to work there during the war.
The Japanese side announced that it plans to hold a memorial service for all the workers every year in the area. This was an agreement with the South Korean government, which ultimately approved the registration. On the South Korean side, 11 surviving family members of the workers and government officials will attend.
It has been decided that the organizers of the event, including the head of the executive committee, Niigata Governor Hideyo Hanazumi and Sado City Mayor Ryugo Watanabe, will attend, but it has not been revealed who will attend from the Japanese government.
The Korean side is calling on the Japanese government to have at least a parliamentary vice-minister attend. The Korean media outlet Maeil Business pointed out that the content of the eulogy to be delivered at the memorial service has not been made public.
"There are concerns that the memorial service may end up being incomplete," he said. The "Sado Island Gold Mine" consists of two mining ruins: the Aikawa Tsuruko Gold and Silver Mine and the Nishimikawa Gold and Sand Mine.
It became one of the world's largest gold producing areas and continued to operate until 1989. The Japanese government and Niigata Prefecture have stated that "during the Edo period, a large-scale gold production system was developed using traditional handicrafts that were different from those in Europe."
On the other hand, during the war, Korean former member workers were mobilized to the Sado Gold Mine to make up for the labor shortage. Therefore, the Korean side initially believed that the "Sado Gold Mine"
Korea was opposed to the aim of registering the site as a World Heritage Site. Korea is a member of the UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) World Heritage Committee, which decides whether or not a site should be registered, and in principle, the registration of a World Heritage Site requires unanimous consent from all member countries.
Therefore, when Japan sought to have the "Sado Island Gold Mine" registered as a World Heritage Site, it was basically required to obtain South Korea's consent.
South Korea has said that if Japan aims to register, Korean Peninsula former member workers
However, views on whether or not it was forced labor differ between Japan and South Korea, and in April 2021, the Japanese government announced that it would not accept the forced labor that took place on the Korean Peninsula during the last war.
The Cabinet has decided on a written response stating that the mobilization of workers from the Korean peninsula to mainland Japan "does not constitute forced labor." Japan has been holding secret discussions with the Korean side, and has been holding a demonstration at an exhibition facility in Sado City, including for former members of the Korean peninsula.
In July, the World Heritage Committee met and after deliberation, the committee members, including South Korea, unanimously decided to register the Sado Island Gold Mine as a World Cultural Heritage site.
On this occasion, a representative of the Japanese government stated that "a memorial event for all the workers at the Sado Island Gold Mine will also be held on-site every year."
The memorial service was expected to be held as early as September, but due to the LDP presidential election and the subsequent House of Representatives election,
However, on the 20th of this month, the executive committee for the memorial service, which is made up of Niigata Prefecture, Sado City, and civic groups in the city, announced that the ceremony would be held on the afternoon of the 24th at the Aikawa Development Center in the city.
At a regular press conference on the 20th, Governor Hanazumi of the prefecture said, "It will be like a report session for those involved to announce that 'Sado Gold Mine has become a World Heritage Site.'"
"I want to use the ceremony to express my feelings toward those who nurtured it until it became a World Heritage Site," he said. Japanese government officials are also expected to attend the memorial service, but it has not been revealed who will attend.
South Korea's public broadcaster KBS said, "Once the Japanese government decides who will attend, South Korea will send officials at that level." As mentioned above, the South Korean side has not yet informed the Japanese government that it will send officials to the meeting.
The Korean newspaper JoongAng Ilbo said, "As the Japanese side has not made it clear that high-ranking officials will attend, it has been pointed out that negotiations over past history issues will continue.
The Korean side is also closely watching the content of the Japanese side's words of condolence to be delivered by both sides at the memorial service. The Korean newspaper Hankyoreh reported that "the Japanese government's sincere condolences will be conveyed.
If this is not the case, doubts about the Yoon Seok-yeol administration's push for 'improving Korea-Japan relations without questioning historical responsibility' are likely to grow stronger."
Meanwhile, the name of the memorial event was decided to be "Sado Island Gold Mine Memorial Ceremony," but according to KBS, the Japanese government initially insisted on including the expression "gratitude," but the South Korean government
He opposed this.