By Chung Ah-young
More than 1,000 citizens have donated 100 million won ($82,700) to establish a foundation supporting Korea's wartime sexual slavery survivors.
The Korean Council for the Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan, a non-government organization for the victims, joined with 400 other civic groups for a fundraising campaign launched Jan. 14 to set up their own foundation for the victims.
The campaign started in protest of the government's Dec. 28 agreement with Japan, in which Japan promised to contribute 1 billion yen (10 billion won) to establish a foundation in Korea to support the 46 remaining survivors.
The civic groups aim at raising 10 billion won from 1 million citizens, equivalent to the amount Japan offered.
According to the council, Thursday, a total of 1,033 citizens nationwide have donated 100.2 million won as of Wednesday.
The council said that individual donors come from all walks of life ― from high school students to professors, Japanese nationals and taxi drivers ― and they have made donations ranging from 10,000 won to 1 million won.
Kim Bok-dong, 90, one of the survivors, also contributed 1 million won to the fund.
The foundation will carry out commemorative, educational and fact-finding activities.
Further donations are expected, as not only individuals but also groups have expressed their intention to contribute, the council said.
The civic groups will accelerate their activities to push for the foundation plan, by involving more high-profile figures for the project, including former Gender Equality Minister Ji Eun-hee and Seong Youm, Korea's former ambassador to the Holy See.
"Citizens who keep their eyes on the wartime sex slavery issue seem to be joining in, in the wake of the Korea-Japan agreement," Yoon Mee-hyang, director of the council, said. "We think this is a good turning point for our movement and we will continue to draw support from citizens."
The council also plans to hold campaigns both at home and abroad to call for the repeal of the agreement, which failed to reflect the victims' demands.
The Lawyers for a Democratic Society, a social organization of progressive lawyers, said that it has filed a petition to the United Nations on behalf of 10 victims to review whether the agreement conforms to the international human rights standards.
"We asked the U.N. to review whether the deal can be seen as Japan's acknowledgement of legal responsibility and an official apology," an official of the lawyers' group said.
According to their petition, the agreement failed to meet international standards for resolving the problem because it did not consider the victims' interests. It also said the deal did not include measures such as fact-finding investigations and punishment of those responsible.
More than 1,000 citizens have donated 100 million won ($82,700) to establish a foundation supporting Korea's wartime sexual slavery survivors.
The Korean Council for the Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan, a non-government organization for the victims, joined with 400 other civic groups for a fundraising campaign launched Jan. 14 to set up their own foundation for the victims.
The campaign started in protest of the government's Dec. 28 agreement with Japan, in which Japan promised to contribute 1 billion yen (10 billion won) to establish a foundation in Korea to support the 46 remaining survivors.
The civic groups aim at raising 10 billion won from 1 million citizens, equivalent to the amount Japan offered.
According to the council, Thursday, a total of 1,033 citizens nationwide have donated 100.2 million won as of Wednesday.
The council said that individual donors come from all walks of life ― from high school students to professors, Japanese nationals and taxi drivers ― and they have made donations ranging from 10,000 won to 1 million won.
Kim Bok-dong, 90, one of the survivors, also contributed 1 million won to the fund.
The foundation will carry out commemorative, educational and fact-finding activities.
Further donations are expected, as not only individuals but also groups have expressed their intention to contribute, the council said.
The civic groups will accelerate their activities to push for the foundation plan, by involving more high-profile figures for the project, including former Gender Equality Minister Ji Eun-hee and Seong Youm, Korea's former ambassador to the Holy See.
"Citizens who keep their eyes on the wartime sex slavery issue seem to be joining in, in the wake of the Korea-Japan agreement," Yoon Mee-hyang, director of the council, said. "We think this is a good turning point for our movement and we will continue to draw support from citizens."
The council also plans to hold campaigns both at home and abroad to call for the repeal of the agreement, which failed to reflect the victims' demands.
The Lawyers for a Democratic Society, a social organization of progressive lawyers, said that it has filed a petition to the United Nations on behalf of 10 victims to review whether the agreement conforms to the international human rights standards.
"We asked the U.N. to review whether the deal can be seen as Japan's acknowledgement of legal responsibility and an official apology," an official of the lawyers' group said.
According to their petition, the agreement failed to meet international standards for resolving the problem because it did not consider the victims' interests. It also said the deal did not include measures such as fact-finding investigations and punishment of those responsible.
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