My name is Daniel. I was an English teacher is Seoul, South Korea, and I am now a writer who has published three books including South Korea: Our Story by Daniel Nardini.

                           The leftist opposition Minjoo Party has stated that if it wins the presidential office, it will cancel the Republic of Korea (ROK)-Japan Comfort Women Agreement. This is a very dangerous and ill-thought move. This agreement was made despite opposition from the Korean left and the Japanese extreme right which did not want to see this kind of an agreement made. It is said that many former comfort women themselves were against this agreement. Yet many former comfort women cannot agree on what course of action should be taken, and considering how many Japanese extreme rightists did not even want this agreement it means that Japan is in no mood to renegotiate or abide by an agreement should the South Korean political left cancel it. The South Korean political left getting rid of this agreement will be far, far worse for South Korea than for Japan. If the Minjoo Party or any other Korean opposition party should get rid of this agreement, then it will not only set back ROK-Japan relations, but also tell the Japanese that South Korea cannot ever be trusted, cannot negotiate in good will, and that South Korea's diplomatic sector will be subject to extreme politics of whoever wins in an election. South Korea will be seen by Japan forever as being unworthy of negotiating in any sincere manner. It will not be just Japan that will see this. The United States will also see this as will most of the rest of the world. Indeed, South Korea might be put in the same category as North Korea. North Korea has shown that it cannot be trusted, cannot be negotiated with, and cannot keep its word for anything. Is this a category that South Korea should be in? The Minjoo Party talks about South Korea being diplomatically "humiliated" by this agreement and that this agreement has been a "catastrophe" for South Korea. Cancelling this agreement in my view will be truly a humiliation and a catastrophe for South Korea and South Korean diplomacy [and while we are on the subject, why doesn't the Minjoo Party or the Korean political left even bother to look at the virtual buying and selling of North Korean women between China and North Korea?! Is this not a comfort women issue? They may talk about what Japan did 71 years ago, but this North Korean comfort women issue is happening right NOW].