Yoon meets with Korean atomic bomb victims in Hiroshima

HIROSHIMA, Japan -- South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol met with a group of Korean victims of the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima on Friday, saying he is sorry their homeland could not be with them when they suffer sorrow and pain.

Yoon was the first South Korean president to meet with Korean victims of the bombing, which took place when the Korean Peninsula was under Japanese colonial rule. The meeting came as Yoon was in Hiroshima for a Group of Seven summit.

"When our compatriots fell victim to the bombing, we were a colony, and after liberation, our country was weak and subject to a communist invasion, and in a very difficult state," Yoon said at a hotel where some 20 victims and their descendants gathered. "And so when our compatriots were under such hardship and pain in a foreign land, the Republic of Korea government, the state, were not by your side."

The Republic of Korea is South Korea's formal name.

"I came here as the president representing the government and the state, and deeply apologize over the fact that your native land could not be with you at the scene of your sorrow and pain, and once again offer my deepest comfort," he added.

Yoon noted that a new government agency tasked with helping overseas Koreans will launch next month in line with one of his campaign pledges, and that the agency will provide systematic support and protection to the Korean diaspora.

He also invited the victims and their families to visit South Korea soon to witness how much their native land has changed and developed.

Presidential spokesperson Lee Do-woon said earlier that the meeting would demonstrate Yoon's commitment to "continuing to resolve historical issues while at the same time pursuing a better future for the two countries."

"This can be understood as symbolically demonstrating the commitment of South Korea and Japan to not close the door on history, while opening the door to the future," he said during a press briefing in Seoul.

Yoon and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida plan to pay a joint visit to a cenotaph for Korean A-bomb victims at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park later this weekend.

Around 50,000 Koreans fell victim to the atomic bombing, including 30,000 killed, after many were brought to Japan to work as forced laborers during its 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula, according to the Korea Atomic Bombs Victim Association. (Yonhap)