Korean Ultra-nationalist Attacks Japanese Ambassador
Earlier this week, a Korean ultra-nationalist attacked the Japanese ambassador in Seoul:
Japanese Ambassador Toshinori Shigeie managed to avoid a piece of cement thrown at him during a speech in Seoul Wednesday, but his interpreter was injured.
Mayumi Horie, third secretary of the Japanese Embassy, was hurt and didn’t come in today, one of the Korean staff members at the embassy told The Korea Times over the phone Thursday. She sustained light injuries.
Police sought an arrest warrant for the offender, Kim Ki-jong.
The incident occurred when Shigeie was giving a speech during the Korea-Japan Future Forum held at the Korea Press Center in central Seoul.
According to YTN, a 24-hour cable news channel, Kim, a member of an advocacy group for Dokdo Islets in the East Sea, walked up to the ambassador and threw a piece of cement at him.
The man had apparently been outraged because the Japanese embassy ignored his crazy protest letters. It is unclear why a known ultra-nationalist was allowed into a serious-sounding event like the Korea-Japan Future Forum.
The attack has compared himself to An Jung-geun, a pro-independence “activist” who is considered a hero because he gunned down of a former Japanese Prime Minister in 1909. [The above screen shots are from a 2004 Korean movie that celebrates his heroic achievement.]
The South Korean government has expressed “regret” over the incident, and the media also seems to be condemning the attack. Here’s an excerpt from an editorial in the Dong-a Ilbo newspaper:
After the attack, Kim shouted to the crowd, “If you are Koreans, kill this bastard.” Upon his arrest, he said, “I wanted to kill him and go down in history like (pro-independence fighter) An Jung-geun.” Such an extreme attempt, however, cannot be seen as a patriotic act. Despite historical disputes with Japan that remain unresolved, the two countries have established official ties and grown closer as neighbors diplomatically and economically. Mentioning An by incorrectly comparing the situation of today with that of the final years of Korea’s Joseon Dynasty debases the martyr’s dignity.
Note: The Japanese government’s official stance on the Dokdo/Takeshima issue is to seek a peaceful solution by submitting the territorial dispute to the International Court of Justice.
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