Statue of Peace, representing a Korean comfort woman, is placed in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul. (Image via Philippine Canadian Inquirer)

S. Korean court rejects petition to revoke sex slave deal

Alfonsus Adi Putra
Politics & Economic
International
Dec 28, 2019
1912
On Friday, South Korea’s (S. Korea) Constitutional Court rejected a petition to revoke the 2015 agreement between Japan and S. Korea to settle for the dispute over S. Korean women enslaved as “comfort women” by the Japanese military in WWII era, 1910 – 1945.

The petition was made by former “comfort women” and their families against the 2015 deal. They said the deal was made without their consent; hence, undermining their dignity and violated their rights to be involved in the negotiation as the related party. By the petition, they demanded fuller compensation from the Japanese government.

The decision to reject the petition was seen as the right thing to do since the petition could have complicated the process to reconcile both countries amid trade and history disputes that put their bilateral relations to its lowest point in decades.

On Friday’s ruling, the nine-judge panel ruled unanimously that the deal was a non-binding agreement that does not affect victims’ legal rights. Furthermore, the 2015 agreement did not get any approval or deliberations from both countries’ parliaments, a necessary requirement to make it a treaty.

The ruling also stated that the 2015 agreement lacked such details that cover steps required from both Japan and S. Korea and the consequences in the event of failure.

S. Korea’s Constitutional Court stated the ruling is final and cannot be appealed.

“Comfort women” had been a crucial matter in the strained ties between Japan and S. Korea. During their invasion on the Korean Peninsula in 1910 – 1945, the Japanese military forced tens of thousands of Korean women to be sexually enslaved as “comfort women”.

In total, there were 240 women having registered themselves as former “comfort women”. However, only 20 of them are still alive until now, aged 90 and above.

The 2015 agreement was then forged by both countries. Japan offered an official apology and financial assistance to support the former comfort women, while S. Korea pledged to remove a life-size Statue of Peace or "Sonyeosang", representing a comfort woman, standing in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul.

When the current President of S. Korea, Moon Jae-in, assumed office in 2017, he bashed the agreement as flawed and disbanded the aid foundation. Japanese PM, Shinzo Abe, who signed the deal with Moon’s predecessor, called out S. Korea for failing to implement the deal.

The bilateral relations were further strained when the S. Korean Supreme Court demanded Japanese companies in S. Korea to compensate for wartime labor in the WWII era, also during Japan’s invasion over the Korean Peninsula. Offended, Japan then tightened its export control on three essential chemical components for semiconductor production to S. Korea.

Both countries also erased both names from both “whitelists”. The tension peaked as S. Korea threatened to not extend the military intelligence-sharing pact, GSOMIA.

The United States (U.S), as an ally of both Japan and S. Korea, pressed both countries to call a truce. GSOMIA is seen as trilateral cooperation between the U.S, Japan, and S. Korea to tackle rising threats from China and North Korea (N. Korea). In November, S. Korea decided to temporarily extend GSOMIA.

Source: https://bit.ly/2F5vG1L

Politics , Conflict , Dispute , Asia , Japan , S.Korea , Comfort-women , WWII