Tough issues lingering over comfort women deal

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

National

Sat, September 30, 2023 | 14:26

Tough issues lingering over comfort women deal

Posted : 2015-12-29 16:30

Updated : 2015-12-29 21:08

Members of civic groups hold a rally outside the headquarters of the foreign ministry in Seoul, Tuesday, in protest against the deal between Korea and Japan on the comfort women issue. / Yonhap

By Kang Seung-woo

Although Korea and Japan reached a landmark deal to resolve the issue of Korean "comfort women," Monday, there are still many complexities to be ironed out between the two countries.

The agreement between Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida includes Japan's responsibility for its wartime aggression and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's apology to the victims. Japan will also contribute 1 billion yen ($8.3 million) to a fund to be administered by the Korean government for the former sex slaves.

However, there are growing questions over whether the deal can hold, given the two sides are already in conflict over the deal — chief of which is that victims and civic groups are strongly protesting the lack of "legal responsibility" on the part of Japan.

Korea has demanded that Japan make an official apology for its crime against humanity and provide compensation to the victims based on its recognition of legal responsibility.

However, Kishida told Japanese reporters following the agreement that the payment was not a form of compensation, confirming Japan's existing position that its legal responsibility was settled under a 1965 treaty signed by the two countries to normalize diplomatic relations.

On the other hand, the Korean side believed that the Japanese government "practically" accepted legal responsibility, given that it has agreed to contribute the money as a follow-up measure to its apology and admission of responsibility to the survivors.

"What we have been demanding is legal compensation from Japan," said 88-year-old Lee Yong-soo, a former comfort woman, during a press conference on Monday.

Also, Korea and Japan are telling different stories about whether to relocate the statue of a girl symbolizing a comfort woman in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul.

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The Japanese government has called on the Korean government to remove the bronze statue depicting a young girl staring at the Japanese Embassy because it has stirred international sentiment criticizing the atrocities of wartime Japan, while the country seeks to expand its role in the international community.

During the joint press conference, Yun said that the government will discuss the issue with relevant civic groups.

Kishida also said that the Japanese believe that the Korean government will make efforts to move the statue, but the foreign ministry denied his remark, saying, "It is not a promise between the two governments to move the statue."

The ministry's statement is regarded as a rejection of Japan's call amid growing negative responses that say the issue should not have been tabled during the meeting.

"The statue cannot be a condition or the means for any agreement. It is common property and a historic symbol representing the peaceful spirit of the Wednesday Demonstrations, which have been continued by the survivors and the citizens for over 1,000 Wednesdays," said the Korean Council for the Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan.

In addition, Seoul and Tokyo may clash with each other over how to use the fund because the two sides have agreed to consult each other over its management.

Japan is not likely to oppose using the fund for medical aid for the elderly women, but if any projects to restore the women's reputation highlight Japan's atrocities, the Japanese side may resist them.

A backlash from the survivors of wartime sex slavery is another tough issue lingering in the agreement, as well.

The victims as well as civic groups dismissed the agreement as no more than a diplomatic expediency, so it is possible that the former comfort women seeking to restore their honor and dignity may reject the financial support from the planned fund, tarnishing the settlement.

Diplomatic experts say that the government should urge Japan to sincerely fulfill the agreement, while paying attention to the negative aspects of the settlement.

More than 200,000 women, mostly Koreans, were coerced into sexual servitude for frontline Japanese soldiers during World War II, according to historians. Only 46 are still alive.

ksw@ktimes.com