BUSAN, South Korea -- A radical South Korean labor union and other civil groups continued their standoff against local police near the Japanese Consulate General in Busan, South Korea, on Tuesday as the police blocked their attempt to put up a statue representing former requisitioned workers from the Korean Peninsula.
Installation of the statue would violate the Vienna Convention, which stipulates that countries that accept diplomatic missions have a special duty to protect the peace and dignity of foreign diplomatic establishments.
The Japanese government is calling on the South Korean government to take action, saying the statue's establishment is inappropriate.
Installing a statue symbolizing requisitioned workers next to the statue of a girl symbolizing so-called comfort women -- the latter was put up at the end of December 2016 -- would be a new source of friction between Japan and South Korea.
South Korea's Foreign Ministry has sent local governments and other entities concerned a document saying that it is desirable to erect such a statue in another venue.
"It's necessary to consider international protocols and customs regarding the security of diplomatic missions in the country," a ministry spokesperson said at a regular press conference on April 24.
However, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) and others tried to push ahead with the installation of the statue by setting it up on Monday, a day earlier than the initially scheduled Tuesday, which was May Day.
At about 10 a.m. Tuesday near the consulate general, about 50 KCTU members and others yelling "Get away, police" clashed with police officers involved in traffic control. As the confrontation developed into a scuffle between the two sides, they moved the statue slightly closer to the building from its original location of about 100 meters from the establishment.
The KCTU side has not obtained permission to use the roads.
The local police were on guard, as the KCTU and others are in violation of a law that prohibits outdoor meetings in the area within 100 meters of foreign diplomatic establishments.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
