Comfort Women Victims Win Lawsuit Against Japanese Government... Ministry of Foreign Affairs "Respect Court's Decision, Strive to Restore Victims' Honor and Dignity" (Comprehensive)

Ministry of Foreign Affairs "Careful Review of Judgment Impact, Comprehensive Efforts for Future-Oriented Cooperation Between Both Countries"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Victims of the Japanese military's sexual slavery have won the first trial in their lawsuit seeking damages against the Japanese government. Following the Korean court's ruling on forced labor compensation during Japanese colonial rule, the court's decision in favor of the comfort women victims is expected to deepen the ongoing historical disputes and tensions between South Korea and Japan.

On the 8th, the Seoul Central District Court Civil Division 34 (Presiding Judge Kim Jeong-gon) ruled in favor of 12 comfort women victims, including the late grandmother Bae Chun-hee, ordering the defendants to pay each plaintiff 100 million won in damages.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a spokesperson's statement expressing respect for the court's judgment and pledged to make every effort to restore the honor and dignity of the victims. The ministry stated, "The government respects the court's judgment and will do everything within its power to restore the honor and dignity of the comfort women victims. We recall that the 2015 agreement between the South Korean and Japanese governments on the comfort women issue was an official agreement between the two governments. We will carefully review the impact of this ruling on diplomatic relations and make all efforts to ensure constructive and future-oriented cooperation between the two countries continues."

As expected, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs rejected the Korean court's ruling and immediately summoned Ambassador Nam Gwan-pyo to Japan. Ambassador Nam told reporters, "We conveyed our intention to resolve this issue without causing undesirable effects on Korea-Japan relations," adding, "We emphasized the need for calm and restrained responses from both sides."

This compensation lawsuit filed by the comfort women victims against the Japanese government is expected to further strain Korea-Japan relations. The series of bilateral conflicts since October 2018?including forced labor compensation, export restrictions, and the Korea-Japan General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA)?have yet to see progress and remain at a standstill.

Diplomatic exchanges between the two countries are expected to continue in a confrontational manner. While the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has maintained that this is a matter for the judiciary, it has consistently urged Japan to take responsibility and apologize sincerely for a genuine resolution. In particular, the ministry holds that the 2015 Korea-Japan comfort women agreement is unacceptable as the victims' opinions were not sufficiently collected or reflected. Conversely, the Japanese government has strongly insisted that the South Korean government must faithfully implement the 2015 agreement regardless of changes in administration.

Choi Eun-mi, a research fellow at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, analyzed, "Considering the very low approval rating of Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, Japan may react more strongly against the comfort women ruling, making Korea-Japan relations even more difficult going forward."

However, since the inauguration of the Joe Biden administration in the United States, there is a high possibility that the U.S. government will become deeply involved in Korea-Japan relations. President-elect Biden and Secretary of State nominee Antony Blinken are expected to actively pursue the restoration of the 'trilateral alliance' under the banner of 'strengthening multilateral alliances.' This process may lead to situations unfavorable to the South Korean government.

Research fellow Choi explained, "In Japan, there is a strong perception that the comfort women issue is over, and the forced labor compensation and comfort women compensation issues have become economic problems that damage Japanese assets. The developments going forward will likely proceed similarly to the forced labor issue."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

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