Historical Memory and Domestic Civic Trust in Japan-South Korea Security Relation

South Korea and Japan were unable to implement the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) or pursue an Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA) in 2012 despite recent violent provocations from North Korea, efforts by Japanese officials to push for historical reconciliation, and U.S. encouragement for further trilateral cooperation and integration. Japanese and South Korean officials did not sign GSOMIA until late 2016, finally enabling in-depth information sharing between the two U.S. allies. This paper examines the role of domestic political opposition from South Korean civic society groups in inhibiting the success of GSOMIA in 2012 and finds that civic distrust of government decision-making in foreign policy has constrained security cooperation with Japan. Such distrust is likely to limit security cooperation in the future and should be taken into consideration during any attempt to forge closer ties between South Korea and Japan.