South Korean Court Orders Japan to Compensate WWII ‘Comfort Women’

South Korean former "comfort women" Kim Bok-Dong (L) and Gil Won-Ok (R), who were forced to serve as sex slaves for Japanese troops during World War II, attend a protest with other supporters to demand Tokyo's apology for forcing women into military brothels during the war outside the Japanese embassy in Seoul on Aug. 12, 2015. (Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Images)

A South Korean appellate court on Thursday ordered Japan to compensate 16 women who were forced to work in Japanese brothels during World War II, overturning a 2021 lower court decision.

The suit was filed against Japan in 2016, but the Seoul Central District Court dismissed the case in 2021, citing “sovereign immunity,” a legal doctrine that allows a state to be immune from a civil suit in foreign courts.

The Seoul High Court overturned the ruling on Thursday, saying that the case falls within South Korea’s jurisdiction.

“Under customary international law, it is reasonable to recognize the jurisdiction of South Korean courts over the defendant Japanese government,” the court said, Yonhap News Agency reported.

The court also ordered Japan’s government to pay 200 million won ($155,000) to each of the 16 victims.

“It is recognized that the defendant engaged in illegal acts in the course of mobilizing comfort women, and appropriate compensation should be paid,” the court said.

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“The victims in this case were forced to have unwanted sexual intercourse with dozens of Japanese soldiers every day, with even their minimal freedom oppressed.

“As a result, they sustained countless injuries and had to bear the risk of pregnancy or death, and could not adjust to social life under normal standards after the end of the war,” it stated.

One of the victims, Lee Yong-soo, 95, expressed her gratitude after hearing the court’s decision. “I thank the victims (of Japanese wartime sexual slavery) who passed away,” she told Yonhap News Agency.

Japan Rejects ‘Unacceptable’ Ruling

Japan has argued that the matter was already settled under a 1965 treaty. Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa voiced his rejection of the ruling, which denied the application of the principle of state immunity.

In a statement, Mr. Kamikawa said the ruling was “extremely regrettable and absolutely unacceptable” because it violated international law and agreements established between the two countries.

“Japan once again strongly urges the Republic of Korea to immediately take appropriate measures to remedy the status of its breaches of international law on its own responsibility as a country,” he stated.

A woman holds a portrait of deceased former South Korean "comfort women" during a rally to mark the 73rd National Liberation Day in front of Japanese embassy in Seoul, South Korea on Aug. 15, 2018. (Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)

The two countries signed an agreement in 2015 to resolve the issue of “comfort women,” in which Japan made an apology and promised about one billion yen ($6.69 million) for a fund to help victims of wartime sexual slavery.

Bilateral relations between the two U.S. allies have been strained for years by the issues of wartime sex abuse and forced labor, but South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida have sought to improve ties.

The two leaders held talks in Tokyo in March and agreed to restore bilateral ties, including the “complete” normalizing of a military intelligence-sharing pact to counter North Korea’s missile threats.

South Korea’s government has said that it would use local funds to compensate victims of forced labor instead of pushing Japanese companies to pay compensation.

Reuters contributed to this report.