Foreign minister calls for Japan not to respond excessively to court ruling on 'comfort women'
Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha bows before addressing the country from the ministry's headquarters in Seoul's Jongno District, Saturday, regarding the government's stance on Japan being ordered by a court here to compensate the country's victims of wartime sexual crimes committed by the Japanese military before and during World War II. Yonhap
Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha requested Japan, Saturday, to refrain from responding excessively to a local court ruling that Tokyo must provide compensation for its wartime sexual enslavement of Korean women.
Kang made the remark during a 20-minute phone call with her Japanese counterpart Toshimitsu Motegi, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The phone call came after South Korean victims of wartime sexual enslavement won their first legal victory against the Japanese government in a landmark ruling Friday.
Japan's Foreign Affairs Minister Toshimitsu Motegi smiles during the signing of agreements at Itamaraty Palace in Brasilia, Brazil, Jan. 8. AFP-Yonhap
The previous day, the foreign ministry said it respected the ruling and said the government will spare no efforts to recover the dignity and honor of "comfort women," a translation of a euphemistic Japanese term for the former sex slaves.
The Seoul Central District Court ordered Tokyo to make financial reparations of 100 million won (US$91,300) each to 12 comfort women who were dragged away from their homes and forced to work in front-line military brothels for Japanese soldiers before and during World War II.
Tokyo maintains the issue of comfort women was permanently resolved through a bilateral agreement with the South Korean government in 2015. But the victims have called this inadequate, saying it lacked a sincere apology from Tokyo and that they were not consulted during the negotiations process. (Yonhap)