Seoul – The wartime sex slaves in South Korea, euphemistically known as “comfort women,” won their first legal victory against the Japanese government in a landmark ruling in Seoul on Friday. The Central District Court in Seoul has ordered the Japanese government to pay compensation of 100 million won ($ 91,300) each to the families of 12 women who were forced to work as sex slaves for the Japanese army during the Japanese colonization of Korea.
The court summoned Japan, forcing only women five of whom are still alive – to be sex slaves “a crime against humanity”. He said women were forced to serve when Japan “illegally occupied” the Korean Peninsula between 1910 and 1945, arguing that the illegality of this occupation means that Japan’s contemporary sovereign immunity cannot protect it from lawsuits.
The case was handed down on Friday in April last year. The Japanese government has never been involved, insisting that the trial be rejected on the grounds that “the state is immune from the jurisdiction of a foreign court”.
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Japanese Cabinet Secretary-General Katsunobu Kato said on Friday that Japan would not challenge the decision, as it would put the country under South Korean jurisdiction.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said Japan could not accept the court’s ruling, while Kato called it “unacceptable” and called on Seoul to take “appropriate steps” to reject it.
Japan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Takeo Akiba has summoned South Korean Ambassador Nam Gwan-pyo to Tokyo to stage an “extremely strong protest”. Ambassador Nam said he would strive to prevent the ruling from having an “undesirable impact” on bilateral ties.
Even South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said that while complying with court rulings, “the government recognizes the formal agreement of the two governments that was concluded in December 2015.”
The agreement included a formal apology from then-Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and a $ 8.3 million aid fund set up by Tokyo for former elderly sex slaves. From Japan’s perspective, the agreement drew a line in the decades-long scandal.
The situation of “comfort women” has been a key point of friction between the two Asian nations for more than half a century.
The victims were mostly Koreans, but the Japanese military took over sex slaves in most countries where it had forces during World War II. There were even British and Dutch women among them.
“We welcome the historic victory that has opened a new horizon,” said a Seoul victims’ advocacy group that speaks for women who have filed lawsuits against Japan.
“Victims have repeatedly testified about the damage and called for a solution based on a victim-centered approach, but have been repeatedly ignored,” the Korean Justice and Remembrance Council on military sexual slavery in Japan said. in a statement.
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The group, noting that only a handful of casualties remain alive, urged the Japanese government to swiftly fulfill what it said was an obligation to fulfill its “responsibility” and to fully investigate the army’s actions and hand over a more accurate version. accurate history of Japan. .
Amnesty International Korea also welcomed the court’s decision on Friday, with director Jihyun Yoon calling it an “important decision” and saying in a statement that it was “the first time a South Korean court has recognized the Japanese government’s responsibility for military sex.” Japanese slavery and paved the way for the restoration of the justice of the survivors. “
Jihyun called on Japan to “follow the court’s decision and take immediate action to compensate the victims of sexual slavery” and to issue a “complete and comprehensive apology to the survivors.”