VIDEO+PHOTOS More 'comfort woman' statues to be installed in Seoul

By Kim Bo-eun

More statues symbolizing former sex slaves will be set up in Seoul by August amid growing tensions between Korea and Japan over the issue of comfort women mobilized for Japanese troops before and during World War II.

The move comes after the Ministry of Foreign Affairs requested a district office in Busan last month to relocate the statue in front of the Japanese Consulate there, after it became a source of friction with Tokyo.

In January, the Japanese government recalled its ambassador to Korea in protest of Seoul’s “failure to remove the statue.”

But more statues are set to be installed. Seoul’s district offices of Dobong, Gangseo and Geumcheon are set to have them set up by Liberation Day on Aug. 15, marking Korea’s 1945 liberation from Japanese occupation.

The statues are being set up to protest a deal reached between the two countries in December 2015, in which the Japanese government provided 1 billion yen to help the victims but did not acknowledge its legal responsibility for its wartime atrocity.

Currently, there are 10 statues in Seoul — the first established in front of the Japanese Embassy in 2011 and the most recent in December in front of Gangbuk-gu Office.

Youth groups are behind the plan for the statue in Dobong-gu. The district office is providing funding and administrative assistance.

Geumcheon-gu Office’s committee for adding a statue, which was launched in December, is currently raising funds.

The committee for Gangseo-gu Office’s statue, comprised of civic groups and lawmakers, will put up a statue of the late sex slave Hwang Keum-ja, who lived in the area and donated all of her possessions to the cause.

While Japan has been pressing for the statues in front of the Japanese Consulate and Embassy to be removed, claiming it was part of the deal reached in December 2015, the statues have only been appearing more and more nationwide — with around 60 local governments having installed or are planning to set up one.

The statues can be established with the approval of district offices. The offices have legal grounds to assist the establishment of the statues as part of commemorative projects for former comfort women.

Movements are also taking place for district offices to assume control of the statues. Jongno-gu Office in Seoul submitted regulatory revisions last year, which will put the statue in front of the Japanese Embassy in its district under its control. The revisions will be voted on by the district council in April and likely be passed. This will prevent arbitrary removal of the statue.

In addition, revisions to an ordinance on support for former comfort women were proposed at Seoul City Council last December, which will allow the Seoul Metropolitan Government to participate in projects involving the statues.