Gov't dismantles 'comfort women' foundation
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Protesters tear up posters with “Reconciliation and Healing Foundation” and “2015 Korea Japan Agreement” written on them, in front of the Japanese Embassy in Korea in central Seoul, Wednesday, after the government announced it would close the foundation. / Yonhap
By Kim Jae-heun
Japan expresses displeasure at shutdown
By Kim Jae-heun
The government announced Wednesday the closing down of a Japan-sponsored foundation established to support Korean victims of Japan's wartime sex slavery.
The decision is likely to aggravate the already strained diplomatic relations with Japan, which has said the foundation was the result of a deal struck between the two nations over the issue.
The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, which governs the Reconciliation and Healing Foundation, said it would carry out the legal procedure to shut down the foundation. The decision came two years and four months after its establishment following a 2015 agreement between the former Park Geun-hye administration and the Japanese government led by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. It was agreed that the two sides had settled the issue “permanently and irreversibly” with Japan paying 1 billion yen (10 billion won) to support the victims.
There have been growing calls to scrap the agreement, which surviving victims and civic groups said did not reflect all of the victims' opinions and did not include an official formal apology from Japan.
The foundation has been practically out of service as its board members quit. But the government is expecting the legal process to completely dismantle it will take between three and 12 months.
“We decided on the shutdown after collecting various opinions under the principle of a victim-centered stance,” Gender Equality and Family Minister Jin Sun-mee said in a press statement. “The government will make efforts to seek a policy to restore the victims' honor.”
The ministry will cooperate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on handling the 10 billion won it received from Japan.
About 4.4 billion won has been given to dozens of surviving victims and descendants of late victims. But the Moon Jae-in administration decided to spend its own money to support the victims and make up for the already-paid shortfall so that the 10 billion won would be left intact.
“It will take time to decide what we will do with the rest of the money,” a ministry official said.
The government did not say the shutdown of the foundation means “cancellation” or “demand for renegotiation” of the 2015 agreement, considering that these would be opposed by Japan.
However, the dismantlement virtually means the agreement has been voided.
“The agreement made between Korea and Japan three years ago was a final, irreversible settlement. The relations between two countries fail when an international promise is not kept,” Abe told reporters.
He added that Japan has been fulfilling promises as part of the international community and urged the Korean government to take responsibility in the same position.
Japanese Foreign Minister Kono Taro also said he cannot accept the Korean government's decision at all.
“We will keep urging the Korean government to fulfill our agreement,” Kono said during his meeting with the Japanese press.