By Kim Jae-heun
The Seoul High Court sentenced the government to make compensations for building prostitution areas near U.S. military camps in Gyeonggi Province and training women to traffic sex there. It is the first time the court has ruled in favor of the women and recognized the nation’s responsibility in creating the areas.
The court ruled the government to compensate all 117 women, who filed a suit for damages in the appellate trial, paying 7 million won to 74 women and 3 million won to 43 women.
The appellate court overturned the first trial by saying it is an illegal act for the country to build and supervise prostitution areas. The court further claimed government officials treated the women as “patriots” who were earning foreign currency and trained them to sit with knees high while crossing their legs.
“Not only did the nation tolerate the sex trafficking in town, but also encouraged and justified such actions. It exploited women sexually and undermined human dignity in the name of consolidating a military alliance and earning dollars,” the justice department said.
The court also decided it was illegal to segregate women who contracted venereal diseases. When this happened they were forcibly taken to facilities nicknamed “monkey houses” where they received painful penicillin injections without a doctor’s prescription, which could have caused side effects. The court saw it as a violation of their human rights.
In the first trial held in January 2017, the court restrictively recognized the nation’s responsibility in isolating the women with venereal disease before the Infectious Diseases Prevention Act took effect in 1977 and ruled for the government to pay 5 million won to 57 people.
A total of 122 prostitutes filed the first lawsuit and began their trial in June 2014, but four have died of disease in the last three years. The women had asked for 10 million won damages per person.