Social and civic groups in South Korea have slammed President Yoon Suk Yeol's summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishidia held Thursday as a humiliating negotiation.

An alliance of 145 non-government groups in the Seoul area held a press conference outside the War Memorial on Friday and denounced what they termed as the worst ever diplomatic catastrophe, noting there was no apology from Japan for wartime forced labor.

The groups claimed that Tokyo, through the summit, is dreaming to revive its militarist past with troops on the Korean Peninsula and that President Yoon is a willing participant enabling Japan's ambitions and has erased Korea's history of fighting for independence.

They dubbed the summit a "tributary diplomacy" that offered Japan everything without consent from the Korean people and said they would denounce Yoon’s return.