A South Korean court has upheld a bilateral agreement between South Korea and Japan which settled once and for all the painful issue of “comfort women” that arose out of World War II. The agreement was challenged recently by 12 women who were suing for $100 million won, or about $91,000 each.
But a judge ruled against the women saying that the government of South Korea did “nothing illegal” in reaching the final deal with Japan. Although the judge did admit that the bilateral pact was “lacking in clarity on many points,” it was not enough to support the case of the 12 women.
During World War II the Japanese Imperial Army conducted the widespread practice of forcing thousand of Korean, Chinese and Filipino women into working as sex workers or prostitutes for Japanese troops. The Japanese parliament issued an apology and expressed remorse to South Korea on March 27, 1993. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reaffirmed the apology in 2014 after some members of the Japanese government suggested revisiting and possibly reversing the statement.
Additionally, Japan agreed to pay pay nearly $9 million (about one billion Yen) to a South Korean foundation as part of the settlement.
It was hoped by both nations the issue finally would become a part of history after the 2015 bilateral agreement. But the 12 women argued that a 2011 ruling by South Korea’s Constitutional Court made it unconstitutional for the government to make a settlement with Japan without providing “tangible effort” to compensate the women in its negotiations with Japan.
A groups called Korean Council for the Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan helped the plaintiffs bring their case to court. They were supported by a large segment of the South Korean public which has believed the settlement was inadequate. Many believe the individual pain and suffering of comfort women was largely ignored.
The deeply troubling issue of military enforced sex slavery and how it has been handled by government officials of both countries has been controversial for decades. In 1951, South Korea initially demanded $364 million in damages from Japan which was to be distributed by a formula that paid $2,000 per injured person, $1,650 per death and $200 per survivor.
Japan finally agreed to pay $800 million in a 1965 treaty. But more controversy erupted with the South Korean government insisted the government itself receive the money rather than the victims. Few comfort women were individually compensated. The South Korean government spent the money on other government projects.
Then in 1994, the Japanese government created the Asian Women’s Fund. This organization distributed individual compensation to South Korean women along with a written, signed apology by former Japanese Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama.
Still, many South Korean women rejected the money and apology based on principle. On the other hand, more than 60 South Korean women did accept about $42,00 each and a signed apology. Another 142 other women received compensation through a program operated by the South Korean government. The Asian Women’s Fund was discontinued in 2007.
Despite the most recent loss in court by the 12 women who brought suit, the issue is still not over. That’s because lawyers for the women plan to appeal.
World War II ended more than 70 years ago but the suffering and atrocities that occurred during the war still haunt the people of South Korea and Japan today. Resolving the issue of military sex slavery remains an open wound that still lingers today.