Park Chul-hee, the South Korean ambassador to Japan, leaves his post and returns to Japan today (14th) - working to expand people-to-people exchanges between Japan and South Korea

South Korean Ambassador to Japan Park Cheol-hee will leave his post today, the 14th, and return to his home country. This comes following the inauguration of the new Lee Jae-myung administration.
During his term, Park worked hard to expand people-to-people exchanges between Japan and South Korea, and successfully completed the commemorative event for the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between Japan and South Korea, held on the 19th of last month.
The envoy has not yet been decided, but according to South Korean news agency Yonhap News, the name of Lee Hyuk, former ambassador to Vietnam and representative of the Korea-Japan Future Forum, is being considered.
Park took up his post in August last year as the successor to former ambassador Yoon Dong-min. Park holds a PhD in political science from Columbia University in the US for his research on contemporary Japanese politics.
He is known as an expert on Japanese politics, foreign policy, and Japan-Korea relations, having obtained a diploma in the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a diploma in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. At the time, the Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo commented on the appointment of a person who was also familiar with Japanese politics, saying, "The resolution of pending issues between Korea and Japan will also be a new step."
"There are high expectations for him as the ambassador to Japan," the report said. When Park arrived in Japan to assume his new post, he told reporters at the airport, "I would like to go wherever I can if it contributes to the relationship of trust and cooperation between the two countries."
True to his word, shortly after assuming his post, Park visited Niigata Prefecture and exchanged views with Governor Hideyo Hanazumi and others about the Sado Island Gold Mine in Sado City, Niigata Prefecture, which had just been registered as a World Heritage Site at the time.
The government claimed that Koreans had been forced to work in the gold mines during the war, and initially opposed the designation of the "Sado Island Gold Mine" as a World Heritage Site.
Last November, in connection with the "Sado Island Gold Mine," a Korean peninsula victim of a gold mine
A memorial service for all the workers, including former members, was held in Sado City, but the embassy officials, including Park, and the Korean bereaved families suddenly decided not to attend. The South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs (equivalent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) said at the time that they were not attending.
He did not give details on why they decided not to hold the memorial service, explaining, "We judged it would be difficult to reach an agreement acceptable to both countries before the memorial service." Park and other embassy officials and bereaved families will hold their own memorial service elsewhere.
Park held a meeting with Tokyo correspondents from South Korean media at the embassy on the 10th of this month and cited the conflict over the memorial as the most difficult part of his term.
According to the report, Park looked back on that time and said that the Japanese government had insisted on including the word "gratitude" in the name of the memorial. Park said, "A memorial ceremony must be a memorial ceremony. The form and the contents must be appropriate.
"My belief that the ceremony should be appropriate for a memorial remains unchanged," he said, adding, "It would have been good if the two countries had worked together and produced a good result, but that was not the case, so this year's (memorial
"I hope that the memorial service will produce better results," he said. During his term, Park also visited many areas affected by the earthquake, including Fukushima and Ishikawa prefectures.
He visited Wajima City, Ishikawa Prefecture, with other staff members. The city suffered extensive damage from an earthquake in January of that year and heavy rains in September. Park has been working to deepen friendship between Japan and Korea and to send condolences to the disaster-stricken areas by cooking meals at temporary housing in the city.
On the 19th of last month, a ceremony was held in Tokyo hosted by the Korean Embassy to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between Japan and Korea, where Park
"We must not neglect our efforts to further develop the current friendly relationship," he said. Park cited the ceremony as the most memorable event during his term in office at the press conference.
Also attending the ceremony were Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, and former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who is the current chairman of the Japan-Korea Parliamentary Friendship League. Park said that the gathering of current and former prime ministers "demonstrates the strong commitment to Korea-Japan relations."
"I felt that there was a strong commitment to the relationship," he said. On the 8th of this month, Park met with Prime Minister Ishiba at the Prime Minister's Office and exchanged farewell greetings. The two leaders expressed their intention to continue cooperation between Japan and South Korea under the Lee Jae Myung administration.
Regarding "shuttle diplomacy," where the leaders of Japan and South Korea visit each other, Park said, "I hope it becomes more frequent." Ishiba praised Park for spreading understanding of Japan-South Korea relations.
In South Korea, former President Yoon Seok-yeol was impeached in December last year for declaring "emergency martial law," and a presidential election was held on the 3rd of last month.
Lee Jae-myung of the progressive Democratic Party of Korea won the election, ushering in a new administration. Park's departure comes as a result of this, but Park, who will be leaving after just 11 months in office, said, "I will not resign after the change of administration.
"It was natural for me to leave my post, and it was only a matter of time before I returned, so it's not strange at all," he said. However, when asked about the government's instructions to return to Japan within two weeks, he said, "I
"But it's not a good choice for the country," he said. Park will return to Korea today, the 14th. No successor has been decided, and Yonhap News reported that "the minister for political affairs at the Korean Embassy in Japan will serve as acting ambassador.
It appears that."