S. Korean president calls for better treatment of Koreans in Japan

By Byun Duk-kun
TOKYO, June 28 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak pledged on Sunday
to provide more support to South Korean residents in Japan and to help them
overcome discriminatory treatment.
"The (Seoul) government will continue to work to eliminate discrimination and the
various inconveniences faced by Korean residents in Japan," the president was
quoted as saying in a meeting with leaders of the Korean Residents Union in
Japan, also known as Mindan.
Officials from the Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Japan also attended
the meeting.
Lee arrived here earlier Sunday on a one-day trip for talks with Japanese Prime
Minister Taro Aso.
The president said his government will work closely with Tokyo to help gain
suffrage for Korean residents, according to an official from the presidential
office.
"The president noted Mindan's efforts to improve the legal status of Korean
residents in Japan and to improve their rights. He asked Mindan and the Chamber
of Commerce to also help improve their country's image here," the official told
reporters.
Though nearly 500,000 ethnic Koreans live in the island nation, they do not have
voting rights and often face difficulty in getting jobs.
Many are descendants of Koreans brought to Japan for forced labor during Japan's
colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula in the first half of the 20th century.
bdk@yna.co.kr
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