Korea-Japan Foreign Ministers Discuss Comfort Women Ruling... Kang Kyung-wha Urges Restraint on Excessive Reactions

Minister of Foreign Affairs Kang Kyung-wha

[Asia Economy Reporter Bu Aeri] On the 9th, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha requested the Japanese government, which is protesting against the South Korean court ruling holding Japan responsible for compensating comfort women victims, to refrain from excessive reactions.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Minister Kang had a phone call for about 20 minutes in the morning at the request of Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu, exchanging opinions on the issue related to the court ruling on Japanese military comfort women victims.

Minister Motegi explained Japan's position, and in response, Minister Kang explained the position already announced by the government and requested the Japanese government to refrain from excessive reactions.

Both ministers agreed to continue close communication between diplomatic authorities on various Korea-Japan issues, including the comfort women ruling.

Earlier, the Seoul Central District Court Civil Division 34 (Chief Judge Kim Jeong-gon) ruled that the Japanese government must pay 100 million won each in compensation to 12 comfort women victims, including the late Bae Chun-hee.

The Japanese government strongly protested, stating that it can never accept the ruling based on the principle of state immunity, which holds that the court of one country cannot try another country as a party to a lawsuit. The Japanese government also claims that the comfort women issue was finally resolved through the 1965 Korea-Japan Claims Agreement and the 2015 Korea-Japan Foreign Ministers' Agreement.

On the other hand, the South Korean government holds the position that the comfort women agreement did not properly reflect the victims' opinions and therefore cannot be a true solution, and that the Japanese government should take actions that correspond to the spirit of responsibility, apology, and reflection it had previously expressed.

The day before, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated regarding the ruling, "The government respects the court's judgment and will do its utmost to restore the honor and dignity of the comfort women victims."

It also expressed its intention not to see Korea-Japan relations deteriorate due to this ruling, saying, "We will make every effort to ensure constructive and future-oriented cooperation between the two countries continues."

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