Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha has criticized Japan’s trade restrictions on South Korea, calling them “unreasonable and counter-sensical retaliatory measures.” 

Speaking before the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee on Wednesday, Kang said her ministry will urge the Japanese government to restrain and retract the measures. She said they will also call on Tokyo to consider Seoul’s proposal to create a joint corporate fund to compensate the victims of Japan’s wartime forced labor. 

Responding to criticism that the South Korean government did not properly react to Japan’s move, Kang said the Japanese government gave no advance notice. She said the South Korean government still tried to find realistic measures in response, including frequent checks on the circumstances through the foreign ministry’s task force and mulling of a various countermeasures by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. 

Kang reiterated the government’s stance that it respects the Supreme Court's decision on Japan’s wartime forced labor and will try to solve the matter based on its respect for the judiciary.