Korea to discuss sex slavery fund with Japan

By Kim Bo-eun

Kang Kyung-wha

South Korea will discuss with Japan how to deal with money contributed by the latter to a now-disbanded foundation for wartime sexual slavery victims, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said Thursday.

“The remaining funds and what to do with the 10 billion yen fund are matters that must be discussed with Japan,” she told reporters.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also said there will be discussions with the Japanese government about the money. Advocates for the victims have urged the government to return it to Japan as a diplomatic row over the issue between Seoul and Tokyo is intensifying.

Under the deal reached in December 2015, Japan provided South Korea with 1 billion yen (10.8 billion won) for victims of Japan's military sexual slavery before and during World War II. About 5.8 billion won remains after the Reconciliation and Healing Foundation handed out funds to some of the victims.

According to the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family that ran the foundation, the government gave 4.4 billion won ($3.9 million) to victims or surviving family members, and spent 700 million won on running the entity. The foundation had initially planned on spending the remaining money on memorials.

However, due to strong opposition to the deal that was made hurriedly under the Park Geun-hye administration without reflecting the voices of the victims, calls have grown for it to be scrapped, or at least reviewed.

The Moon Jae-in administration decided to earmark 10.8 billion won of its own money to deal with the matter following its inauguration.

However, while the new government concluded the deal was faulty, it has been maintaining it will not seek to scrap or revise the deal. Therefore, it appears unlikely it will return the money Japan paid.

“The government will collect the opinions of civic groups representing the victims to draw up reasonable measures to deal with the matter, and discuss this with the Japanese government,” foreign ministry spokesman Noh Kyu-duk said.

Japan has maintained the stance that the deal is not subject to revision. After the government announced the closure of the foundation, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said, “Relations between two countries fail when an international promise is not kept.”

Regarding Tokyo's response, Kang said it was better not to give an “excessive response” under such circumstances.

It has also been the government's position to seek “future-oriented” relations with Japan, with the country has a history of conflict.

Another issue is a recent ruling by the Supreme Court, which ordered a Japanese steelmaker to compensate Korean victims of forced labor during Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.

Tokyo denounced the ruling, claiming it provided complete compensation after a bilateral deal on the resumption of diplomatic ties in 1965.

The government has maintained its low-key stance, as it is mulling over diplomatic implications.

Japan's repeated claims to South Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo also continue to strain bilateral relations. A rally in Tokyo, Wednesday, claiming Japan's ownership of Dokdo irked the Korean administration as senior Japanese government officials attended the event.

The foreign minister said a visit to Tokyo to discuss the issues was an option being considered.