Foreign ministry says it respects ′2015 comfort women deal′ following high court ruling

Foreign ministry says it respects '2015 comfort women deal' following high court ruling: General / 이원주 / 2023-11-24 14:53:40

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▲ Lee Yong-soo, one of the nine registered surviving South Korean victims of sexual slavery by Japan during World War II, raises her hands in happiness after the appeals court in Seoul ordered Japan to compensate the plaintiffs on Nov. 23, 2023. (Yonhap)

ministry-comfort women

Foreign ministry says it respects '2015 comfort women deal' following high court ruling

SEOUL, Nov. 24 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's foreign ministry said Friday it respects a 2015 agreement with Japan to settle the issue of wartime sex slaves, a day after a Seoul high court ordered Japan to compensate the victims.

A foreign ministry official said the ministry is looking into the details of the ruling.

On Thursday, the Seoul High Court overturned a lower court's rejection of a damages suit filed by victims of Japan's wartime sexual slavery and ordered Japan to pay 200 million won (US$153,800) in compensation to each of the 16 victims.

The Japanese government protested against the court ruling, summoning South Korean Ambassador to Japan Yun Duk-min and urging Seoul to immediately take appropriate measures to remedy the status of its breaches of international law.

In 2015, South Korea and Japan announced the deal to "finally and irreversibly" resolve the wartime sex slave issue, while Tokyo apologized for its colonial-era atrocities and agreed to contribute 1 billion yen (US$8.9 million) to a foundation dedicated to supporting the victims.

In March, South Korea said it will compensate the Korean victims on its own without asking for contributions from Japanese companies, a decision that led to a dramatic warming of the Seoul-Tokyo ties and the resumption of reciprocal visits by their leaders.

Many South Koreans still harbor deep resentment against Japan for its harsh colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula from 1910 to 1945, when many young Korean women were forced to serve as sexual slaves for Japanese soldiers.

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