1. On July 5, during its 39th Session held in Bonn, the World Heritage Committee (WHC) decided by consensus among its 21 member states to inscribe Japan’s Meiji Industrial sites on the World Heritage list in a way that reflects the historical fact that “there were a large number of Koreans who were brought against their will and forced to work under harsh conditions in the 1940s at some of the sites.”

2. At the meeting, the Japanese delegation stated that “Japan will sincerely respond to the recommendation by the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) that the strategy allow ‘an understanding of the full history of each site.’ The delegation also stated that “Japan is prepared to take measures that allow an understanding that there were a large number of Koreans and others who were brought against their will and forced to work under harsh conditions in the 1940s at some of the sites and is prepared to incorporate appropriate measures into the interpretive strategy to remember the victims such as the establishment of information center.”

3. The Head of Delegation of the Republic of Korea, Second Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Tae-yul, urged the Japanese Government’s full implementation of the measures it announced at the meeting and the Committee recommendations by the 42nd Session of the WHC in 2018, emphasizing that “The decision marks another important step toward remembering the pain and suffering of the victims, healing the painful wounds of history, and reaffirming that the historical truth of the unfortunate past should also be reflected in an objective manner.”

4. The ROK has consistently maintained that the historical facts should be fully reflected, and actively explained this point to WHC member states through summit and high-level meetings, as well as parliamentary exchanges. The WHC decision is significant in the following aspects:

◦ In effect, for the first time ever Japan has stated the clear historical fact that Koreans were brought against their will and forced to work under harsh conditions in the 1940s.
◦ This has been done not only at the ROK-Japan bilateral level, but has been included in the official documents of the WHC.
◦ The Japanese Government has publicly undertaken to take appropriate measures to remember the victims, including the establishment of information center. The WHC has put in place a mechanism to monitor the Japanese Government’s implementation of its follow-up measures.
◦ The principle that the historical truth and negative heritage of the unfortunate past should also be reflected in an objective manner in inscriptions on the World Heritage List has been clearly reaffirmed.

5. With respect to the aforementioned monitoring mechanism, in order to ensure the Japanese Government’s thorough implementation of the measures it has committed to, the ROK Government will closely follow relevant developments and take necessary measures within the framework of the WHC.

※ Mechanism for monitoring Japan’s measures
- Japan is requested to submit a progress report to the World Heritage Centre by December 1, 2017.
- At the 42nd WHC Session in 2018, the WHC will examine the Japanese Government’s implementation of the measures it has undertaken.
- The WHC has recommended that ICOMOS be invited to provide advice in the process of Japan’s implementation of the measures to enhance understanding of the full history of the sites.

6. This issue has been resolved amicably through dialogue, in addition to the recent positive developments on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the normalization of ROK-Japan relations. The ROK Government hopes that these will promote a virtuous cycle in furthering the bilateral ties between the ROK and Japan.