South Korea to skip Japan's Sado Mine memorial for third year

South Korea will not attend the memorial service for workers at the Sado Island Gold Mines in Niigata Prefecture, Japan, marking the third consecutive year of its absence. The decision follows a breakdown in bilateral consultations between Seoul and Tokyo regarding the memorial address for the ceremony scheduled for September 12.

The diplomatic dispute centers on whether the coercive nature of Korean labor mobilization during the Japanese colonial period will be adequately reflected in the ceremony and site exhibits. While Japan previously secured South Korean consent to list the mines as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2024 by promising to honor all workers, Seoul maintains that the “entire history” of the site, including the forced mobilization of over 1,500 Koreans between 1910 and 1945, has not been sufficiently addressed.

In response to the impasse, the South Korean government plans to hold its own separate domestic commemoration ceremony.