A mysterious Dokdo visit that only backfired

Politicians must stop the reckless political gestures of exploiting Dokdo for their personal gains.

A sudden visit to the disputed islets of Dokdo by Cho Kuk — a former justice minister currently heading the Rebuilding Korea Party that will command the second-largest opposition in the upcoming new National Assembly — has drawn a strong protest from the Japanese government. Cho has stoked an unnecessary controversy that cannot help our national interests with his ill-timed, politically-motivated trip.

Standing on one of the two islets, Cho, a strong critic of Tokyo under the previous administration, reminded that Takeaki Matsumoto, the Minister of International Affairs and Communications, is the great-great grandson of Ito Hirobumi, the first prime minister of Japan who led the colonization of Korea.

The Japanese ministry has been pressing the operator of Japan’s dominant mobile chat app Line to push out its Korean founder and equal stakeholder Naver. Cho Kuk criticized President Yoon Suk Yeol for “servitude” and “deferential” diplomacy towards Japan.

A party leader commanding 12 seats in the legislature can have a differing opinion on foreign policy. But making a protest trip to the location over the Line affair is an overstretch. The Dokdo islets are historically, geographically and internationally an irrefutable Korean territory.

Cho has a track record of capitalizing on anti-Japanese sentiment. While as the senior secretary for civil affairs to president Moon, he posted on Facebook the song “Bamboo Spear” — sung during the Donghak Peasant Revolution against Japanese forces in the 19th century — when Tokyo imposed export curbs on materials bound for Korea. His exhibitionist trip can only invite suspicion of having political motivations, as he could lose his legislative seat if he is found guilty of involvement in the illegal college admissions of his children at the Supreme Court.

The visit ended up rekindling the same old ungrounded claim from Tokyo. “It is unacceptable and extremely regrettable that the Korean opposition party leader landed on Takeshima despite repeated requests from Japan to refrain,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said.

Governing Democratic Party lawmakers visited Dokdo last month and Jeon Yong-gi of the same party made a protest trip to the islet last May ahead of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s visit to Seoul. Former President Lee Myung-bak also visited the islands in August 2012.

Japan’s claims over the islets are outrageously groundless. We must stay calm and indifferent to the reckless claim no matter how many times Japan stresses it through its textbooks and Defense white papers. Politicians must stop their outlandish political gestures of exploiting Dokdo for their personal gains.