画期的な李在明氏の勝利　

　　韓国大統領選で、革新系の李在明(イジェミョン)氏がほぼ５割の支持で勝利した。任期は５年、議会は与党が絶対多数を占めており、韓国は変わる。アジアの緊張緩和に寄与し、日本の平和に大きな意義がある。

　　日本政府や与野党の多く、メディアは李政権を歓迎しているとは言えず、「尹政権で改善された関係が維持されるのか」と心配する。わずか２年間の尹錫悦(ユンソンニョル)政権時代が「良好な日韓関係」で、その前の文在寅(ムンジェイン)政権の時代は好ましくないという。　

文在寅政権の仕事　

　　しかし、尹政権によって「改善された日韓関係」の内実は何であろう。まず、文政権の実績を振り返ってみよう。　

　　文氏はトランプ米大統領との会談で、対中国の長距離ミサイルの韓国配備を延期させた。朝鮮民主主義人民共和国の金正恩氏との首脳会談を重ね、「朝鮮戦争の平和協定締結をめざす」合意をし、トランプ氏を引き出して18年に米朝首脳会談を実現させた。　

　　トランプ氏はその後、消極的になり翌年のマニラ会談で破談したものの、ここまでこぎつけた文政権の仕事はまことに大きい。未だ「休戦」の朝鮮戦争の「停戦」が、東北アジアの緊張緩和に歴史的な役割を果たすことはいうまでもない。　

　　それだけに右翼の風当たりも強く、22年大統領選で後継の李氏は僅差で敗れ、韓国は暗転した。　

戒厳令の口実作り

　　一方、尹政権は何をしたか。23年８月のキャンプデービットでの日米韓首脳会談の合意は、尹政権の外交・安保政策の骨格となった。それは日米韓の軍事同盟化をめざすものだ。　

　　「複数領域に及ぶ３カ国共同訓練」の実施、「北」に対抗する「弾道ミサイル防衛協力」も言明した。従来、米韓と日米のそれぞれの軍事同盟だったものを合体させ、軍事対象を「北」に加え中国へとシフトした。最近、中谷元防衛相が公言する「ワンシアター構想」の要である。　

　　尹政権は「北」を挑発し、局地戦を起こし戒厳令の口実にしようとした。幸い「北」は挑発に乗らず戒厳令も頓挫したが、自衛隊も出動しかねない極度の緊張状態を期したのが尹政権であった。　

対中包囲にも風穴　

　　韓国民衆の決起と李氏の勝利は尹政権の野望だけでなく、米日韓の対中包囲網にも風穴を開ける可能性を切り開き、日本の戦争準備にも強力なＮＯ！を突き付けた。とはいえ国際的な「新冷戦」状態と国内右翼勢力の抬頭で、李政権の前途は容易ではない。　

　　日韓民衆連帯を強め、平和をめざそう。

英訳版↓

No. 1408 Celebrating Victory of President Li Jae-Myung in ROK

In the recent presidential election held in the Republic of Korea (ROK) a progressive candidate Li Jae-Myung won, gaining almost 50% of the votes. The term is five years and the ruling party obtained the absolute majority in the national assembly. ROK will certainly change. The victory of Li government will contribute to détente in the Asian region and have great implications on peace in Japan.

NEW ROK LEADER WILL OPNE A PATH TOWARD DÉTENTE

The Japanese government and most of the opposition parties, together with commercial media here, do not celebrate the Li administration, but worry about whether ‘the improved bilateral relation built during the Yun government may be maintained.’ They say that the relations between the two countries are good during only two years of the Yun leadership but they had been bad during the previous Mun Jae-In government.

Achievements of the Mun Jae-In government

What is ‘the improved relation between ROK and Japan’ under the Yun government? Let’s look back at achievements made by the Mun’s leadership.

President Mun had meetings with US President Donald Trump and could postpone deployment of US long-range missiles in ROK against China. He repeated meetings with Mr. Kim Jong-Un of Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) to reach an agreement ‘to go toward concluding a peace accord of the Korean War’, which triggered President Trump to be present in a summit meeting of 2018 between DPRK and USA.

After the summit meeting, President Trump became passive and in the meeting in Hanoi held in the following year 2019, the two leaders broke off the negotiation. But the involvement of the Mun government of ROK was great as it had prepared the processes. The Korean War has not yet ended, being in the ‘armistice’ phase. Ceasefire will play a historic role for detente in the northeast Asian region.

For this reason, the rightist forces in ROK harshly attacked the Mun government and on the 2022 presidential election the candidate Li was defeated with a slight margin. ROK ushered into a dark age.

Martial rule was prepared with false excuse

Now, let’s look at what the Yun government did. In August 2023, a trilateral summit meeting was held in Camp David, the USA, of the US, ROK and Japan, and the treaty concluded there became the basis of the ROK’s diplomacy and security policy. It was to formulate a triple alliance of US, ROK and Japan.

The pact declares implementation of ‘trilateral joint military exercises in multiple fields’ and ‘cooperation in ballistic missile defense’ against ‘North’. Traditional bilateral alliances, which are the US-Japan grouping and the US-ROK one, are merged into a single entity to shift to countering not only DPRK but also China. This is the core of ‘one-theater initiative’ which Minister of Defense of Japan Nakatani Gen lately talks about publicly.

The Yun government of ROK attempted to provoke the ‘North’ to open a local skirmish, taking advantage of this plan as a pretext of martial rule. Happily, DPRK did not respond to the incitement, and the martial law regime botched immediately. This extremely tense situation implicated that Japanese Self Defense Forces might have been mobilized. That was the deeds of the Yun government.

Encirclement of China is broken

People’s rising in revolt and victory of Mr. Li bring possibilities not only to break up ambitions of the Yun leadership but also to spoil the trilateral link of US/ROK/Japan against China. The victory of people of ROK sends us a strong message, too, No! to Japan’s preparations for a war.

However, internationally, ‘a new cold war’ is being extended, and domestically, rightist forces are gaining power. The Li government faces challenges.

Let’s enhance solidarity movements of peoples of ROK and Japan to build peace.



June 25, 2025