Sado:Seoul South Korea will conduct a separate memorial ceremony next week for Korean victims of wartime forced labor at the Sado mine complex in Japan. This decision comes in response to Japan's ongoing reluctance to recognize the coercive nature of the mobilization of Korean workers, as stated by South Korea's foreign ministry.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the ceremony is scheduled to take place in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, on November 13. South Korean Ambassador to Japan, Lee Hyuk, will represent the government, alongside nine family members of the victims. The ceremony will include a visit to the site of a dormitory for Korean workers where participants are expected to lay flowers and pay tribute at significant locations linked to the Korean workers.
This year marks the third consecutive year that South Korea has organized a separate ceremony, diverging from Japan's approach to addressing the forced labor of Korean workers. Japan held its own memorial ceremony in September, represented by a director general-level official from its foreign ministry, but did not address the issue of forced labor involving Koreans.
The annual memorial ceremony was part of Japan's commitment to gain South Korea's support for the Sado mine complex's nomination to the UNESCO World Heritage list in July 2024. South Korea had urged Japan to reflect the complete history of the site, including the forced labor of Koreans. Despite this, Japan has consistently refused to recognize the coercive nature of the mobilization of Korean workers since the preparations for the initial ceremony in 2024. Consequently, South Korea has decided to continue holding its own separate ceremony annually.
UNESCO's World Heritage Committee has also addressed the issue, adopting a decision in July 2026 that urged Japan to clarify how the Sado mine's interpretation and presentation encompass the site's "whole history," including the period of forced mobilization of Korean workers. The committee has called on Japan to provide a follow-up implementation report by December 2027.