Comfort Women Victims Win Lawsuit Against Japanese Government... Court Orders Payment of 100 Million Won Each

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] The victims of the Japanese military sexual slavery won the first trial in their lawsuit seeking damages against the Japanese government.

On the 8th, the Civil Division 34 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Kim Jeonggon) ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, ordering the Japanese government to pay 100 million won per person to 12 victims, including the late grandmother Bae Chunhee, who filed the lawsuit seeking damages.

Grandmother Bae and others claimed that the Japanese government deceived or forcibly conscripted them as comfort women during the Japanese colonial period and filed a mediation request in August 2013 seeking 100 million won each in consolation money. However, since the Japanese side refused to accept the delivery of the case from the Korean court, mediation did not take place, and at the plaintiffs' request, the court formally transferred the case to trial in January 2016.

On this day, the court stated, "The illegal acts in question were planned and organized, constituting inhumane acts that violated international peremptory norms," and "Considering various materials and the entirety of the arguments, the illegal acts are recognized."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.