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This year’s Sado memorial unlikely to be held in July or Aug.: Seoul

June 30, 2025

A memorial event honoring Korean victims who were forced to work at an old Japanese mine complex during Japan’s colonial rule of Korea is unlikely to take place in July or August as Japan had promised, a Seoul official said Monday.

Holding such a memorial ceremony for the victims from the Sado mine complex was part of Japan’s pledge when the mines were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in late July of last year. Japan committed to holding the event annually.

“Japan had conveyed their intention to hold the memorial ceremony in July or August,” a foreign ministry official said.

“Last year, the event was inevitably delayed due to the timing of the inscription at the end of July. This year, it appears that holding the ceremony in July or August has also become difficult amid ongoing negotiations,” the official said.

Last year’s inaugural memorial event ended in a dispute between the two countries, as Seoul boycotted the ceremony in Japan, citing Tokyo’s lack of sincerity in honoring the victims. South Korea separately held its own memorial event near the Sado site.