South Korea’s left and Japan’s right have crushed alternative viewpoints, setting up a trade dispute that may not be resolved

Both Seoul and Tokyo’s actions are considered overdue, democratic expressions by South Korea’s left and Japan’s right-wing parties.

Since the Park Chung-hee regime signed the 1965 treaty with Tokyo, normalising relations and ostensibly resolving colonial-era claims, left-wing activists have characterised it as the work of pro-Japanese collaborators contravening the Korean people’s wishes. Anti-Japanese populism entered mainstream public discourse during Korea’s democratic transition in the 1990s. The narrative gained traction as left-leaning Korean administrations became less willing to enforce bilateral treaties and international agreements regarding Japan.