Application for the Provisional Disposition to Ban the Japanese History Textbooks

Some members of both ruling and oppositional party have decided to apply for the provisional disposition that bans the production and the selling of the Japanese history textbooks. As the government’s demand for the correction of the textbooks comes closer, the Congress has also decided to come forward as well.

The New Millennium Democratic Party’s Ham Seong-hee and Song Young-gil, the Grand National Party’s Kim Won-ung, the United Liberal Democrats’ Bae Ki-sun are planning to visit Japan on May 9 and apply for the provisional disposition to ban the production and the selling of the Japanese history textbooks in the local court against 8 publishing companies and the Association to Make New History Textbooks.

They stated in the application form for the provisional disposition that ‘The distortion of the Japanese history textbooks gives a fatal blow to Korean people’s honor and self-respect and is a cruel and vicious behavior of defamation of honor’.

Rep. Ham said, ‘As the Japanese court accepted the compensation claims by the Japanese military ‘comfort women’ and the victims of ‘labor Jungshindae’, I expect the conscientious judgment from the Japanese judicial officials’.

The Congress Library will have exhibition on ‘Resources on the Japanese history textbook distortion’ from May 30 through June 20. Along with the exhibition on the resources, such as ‘Japanese history textbook distortion’, ‘photo exhibition’, ‘image-projection exhibition’, there will be a guest lecture and the film screening.

Moon Chul fullmoon@donga.com