The Suit Filed By The Korean Comfort Women Was Unsuccessful And Will Be Appealed
On Friday, a court in South Korea rejected the suit twelve former comfort women filed. The Korean comfort women were seeking damages of 100 million or approximately $91,000 each. The damages were against the South Korean government regarding a bilateral agreement with Japan considered to be extremely controversial. The suit was filed in 2016 with the Seoul District Court. The women were demanding compensation from the government for both financial and mental damages they claimed were caused as a result of the agreement made in 2015. This agreement was meant to finally and irreversibly settle the South Korean comfort women concerning the women forced to work at the military brothels in Japan during the war.
Korean comfort women 1945 photo/ US archives
When the court made a ruling, they acknowledged the agreement was not completely clear in numerous aspects. When the court considered the process of coming to diplomatic negotiations and a bilateral consensus, they could not say illegal activities had been conducted. According to the recent ruling, the decision made by the government in 2015 regarding the comfort women stories has been given legality. The attorney for the plaintiffs stated this was not understandable and intends to appeal the decision.
The deal made in 2015 was criticized by the women. They believe it contradicts the ruling made in 2011 by the Constitutional Court in South Korea. This ruling stated when no tangible efforts are made by the government to resolve the disputes regarding compensation for the comfort women testimonies it is unconstitutional. The suit was filed by the plaintiffs with the Korean Council. This council is a civic group established for the women Japan drafted into sexual slavery during the war. This group is in opposition to the agreement.
According to the deal of 2015, Japan expressed remorse and apologized to the former Korean comfort women for the suffering they endured. Japan provided $8.8 million or ¥1 billion to a foundation in South Korea to support the surviving victims. There has been a lot of controversy surrounding this deal with both the South Korean public and the victims. The critics have stated the voices of the victims were ignored and the fresh apology made by Japan concerning the issue was inadequate.
photo by Okan Caliskan via Pixabay
The term South Korean comfort women applies to the girls and women who were forced into sexual slavery prior to and during World War II in territories occupied by the Imperial Japanese Army. The name comfort women was translated from the Japanese word ianfu which is a euphemism for prostitute. There are numerous estimates for the exact number of women involved ranging from 20,000 to 410,000. These numbers are still being debated and researched. The majority of these women were from occupied countries such as the Philippines, China and Korea. The women were forced to work at comfort stations in Japanese occupied territories. The testimonies of these women stated they were abducted right from their homes and lured with promises of working in restaurants, factories or promised higher education. Once these women were recruited they were sent to comfort stations abroad and within their own nations.
