The South Korean government on Friday has issued a protest against Japan's expansion of its “Territory and Sovereignty Exhibition Hall” in Tokyo, calling the move a renewed attempt to assert baseless claims over Dokdo.

The foreign ministry summoned Matsuo Hirotaka, deputy chief of mission at the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, to lodge a formal complaint.

In a press statement, the ministry said it “strongly regrets” Japan’s decision to add new exhibition space, noting that Seoul has repeatedly demanded the hall’s closure since it first opened in 2018.

The ministry stressed that Dokdo is “historically, geographically and under international law unequivocally Korean territory,” and warned that Tokyo’s actions undermine efforts to build a future-oriented bilateral relationship.

Japan’s exhibition hall has showcased claims to Dokdo, the Senkaku Islands, and the four southern islands of the Russia-controlled Kurils since its initial launch and has expanded and remodeled several times.