President Lee Jae Myung in an exclusive interview with the Japanese daily Yomiuri Shimbun released on Aug. 21 said bilateral agreements with Japan on Korean victims of sexual slavery and forced work are pledges between countries that should not be rescinded. Shown is President Lee (right) on the same day in a meeting with Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft and now chairman of the Bill Gates Foundation, at the Office of the President in Seoul. (Office of the President)

By Xu Aiying

President Lee Jae Myung, ahead of his first official visit to Japan since taking office, says,  "The agreements on 'comfort women' (euphemism that refers to sex slaves of Japanese military in the early 20th century) and solutions to victims of forced work are promises between our two nations that should not be rescinded."

He said this in an exclusive interview with the Japanese daily Yomiuri Shimbun released on Aug. 21. On his views of bilateral history issues, he said, "We need to acknowledge reality as much as possible, strive to understand each other and resolve these issues without confrontation."

"As a Korean citizen, I find the agreements made by the former administration very hard to accept, but we must consider them promises that we made as a country."

"We bear the dual responsibility of considering policy consistency and our national credibility on the global stage while deeply contemplating the stances of our people, the victims and their families," he added. "We have to advance the discussion from a more humanitarian perspective."

On relations with Japan, he called the country "a very important entity," adding, "I believe that Korea can also be beneficial to Japan."

"We must find a path that benefits both sides as well as expand sectors for cooperation."

At his upcoming summit with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in Tokyo, President Lee said he will discuss bilateral cooperation in a range of sectors such as economy, security and people-to-people exchanges.

xuaiy@korea.kr