June 9, 2026
SEOUL – Deeper Seoul-Tokyo military ties need ‘sincere’ apology for colonial past: Lee
President Lee Jae Myung on Monday called for “fundamental measures” to prevent a repeat of the ballot shortages that marred the June 3 local elections, saying the controversy had led him to question whether he had lacked “sensitivity to sovereignty.”
Speaking at a news conference marking his first year in office at Cheong Wa Dae, Lee said the unprecedented disruption was “not about the number of votes or the outcome,” but rather “a matter of principle.”
“I have also reflected deeply on the argument that this is a fundamental issue concerning the exercise of sovereignty in the democratic Republic of Korea,” Lee said, referring to South Korea by its official name.
“That is why I have come to think that we must devise fundamental measures. We were far too complacent.”
Lee praised young people who criticized the ballot shortages, saying the protests “may be somewhat mixed up with election fraud claims,” but that he “sees it as entirely different.”
“To be honest, I had not thought of it that way myself,” Lee said. “Part of me had thought that only a dozen or so people had been unable to vote and that it had not affected the result.”
Lee said their criticism had made him reconsider his own initial reaction to the controversy.
“Watching many young people raise the issue, I wondered whether I, too, had become far less sensitive to it,” Lee said, referring to street protests led by young people over the ballot shortages. “Maybe people like us had grown numb to it, or perhaps it was a lack of ‘sensitivity to sovereignty.’ That was the kind of reflection I had.”
The remarks came after the National Election Commission acknowledged Friday that ballot shortages occurred at 50 polling stations nationwide, including 22 where voters were forced to wait because ballot papers failed to arrive on time.
Lee also reiterated the need for a joint investigative task force involving prosecutors and police, echoing an order he issued in a post on X on Sunday.
Noting that the election commission is a constitutionally independent institution largely insulated from outside oversight, Lee said authorities must still determine whether the failures stemmed from criminal misconduct, negligence or deeper structural problems.
“We need to at least establish the truth,” Lee said. “Was it done intentionally? Or was there a fundamental structural problem? We need to know.”
Later Monday, Lee held a rare meeting at Cheong Wa Dae with National Assembly Speaker Cho Jeong-sik, Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae, Constitutional Court President Kim Sang-hwan and outgoing Prime Minister Kim Min-seok to discuss the incident and possible institutional responses.
Speaking at the news conference, Lee also said he viewed the local election results as “a warning from the people,” despite his Democratic Party of Korea winning 12 of the country’s 16 mayoral and gubernatorial races, while the main opposition People Power Party retained four, including Seoul.
Lee admitted that the outcome had weighed heavily on him. “For two or three days, I wasn’t in a very good state myself,” Lee said. “In the end, the conclusion I reached was that it reflected my own shortcomings.”
No deeper defense ties without apology
On foreign policy, Lee said efforts to deepen military cooperation with Japan would face limits unless Tokyo addresses historical grievances with what he described as a “sincere” apology for its 1910-45 colonial rule of Korea.
Lee revealed that he had explained to Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi that a military logistics support agreement would be difficult to pursue despite its practical necessity, following their summit in his hometown of Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, on May 19.
“Northeast Asia’s security issues are somewhat complex. In the long run, I believe we should move toward a multilateral security system,” Lee said
Lee, however, concurrently disclosed that he had cautioned during the summit that South Korean public sentiment toward Japan remains a significant hurdle.
“On the issue of a military logistics support agreement, many people in the Republic of Korea would say, ‘What are you talking about?’ Yet from my perspective, there is a practical necessity for it,” said Lee.
“But practical necessity is one thing. Emotionally, many of our people still find it difficult to accept at this point. If I say things like this, I’ll get into trouble. So I told her, ‘Please understand our position as well.'”
The agreement, formally known as an Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement, would allow the two neighboring US allies to share and mutually procure military supplies and logistical support, including fuel, food and ammunition. Japan has sought to conclude such an arrangement with South Korea.
Lee suggested that a sincere Japanese apology over historical issues remains a prerequisite for deeper military cooperation and a genuinely closer bilateral relationship.
“But that is the situation we face today. It is because these (historical) issues have not been fundamentally settled. I believe they must be resolved one day — they absolutely must,” Lee said.
“Only then can a genuine Korea-Japan relationship be achieved. There must be a sincere apology — one that sincerely says, ‘I’m really sorry for hurting you.’ I believe that day will come eventually.”
At the same time, Lee acknowledged that historical and territorial disputes with Japan should be managed separately from areas where cooperation serves South Korea’s national interests.
“But that does not mean we have to become so tied down by them that we give up everything else,” he added.
No realistic path to Seoul’s nuclear armament
On North Korea’s nuclear program, Lee called for a phased approach that keeps denuclearization as the long-term objective while setting more realistic short-term goals for negotiations.
“We need to be realistic,” Lee said. “That is why we should set short-, medium- and long-term goals and engage in actual dialogue based on them.”
As an initial step, Lee said negotiations should focus on freezing North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs rather than demanding immediate denuclearization.
“As a first step, I believe negotiations should be aimed at stopping the additional production of nuclear materials, preventing their transfer overseas and establishing a moratorium,” Lee said. “North Korea should also halt the development of ballistic missiles and intercontinental ballistic missile technology. Those alone should serve as the short-term objectives of negotiations.”
Lee said he had conveyed the need for a phased denuclearization approach to US President Donald Trump and other world leaders on several occasions
Lee pointed out that South Korea’s nuclear armament is “neither desirable nor possible in reality,” saying, “That is why we must ultimately move toward denuclearization in the long run.”
“If the Republic of Korea arms itself with nuclear weapons, do you think Japan would stay still? Do you think Taiwan would stay still? Do you think East Asia would stay still?” Lee said. “Everyone would arm themselves with nuclear weapons, and the entire region would become saturated with them. That is not desirable.”
Lee also said nuclear armament would expose South Korea to severe international sanctions that the country could not withstand, given its “extremely high level of dependence” on the outside world.
“Acquiring nuclear weapons would require us to endure enormous international sanctions, but we cannot become like North Korea,” Lee said.