A South Korean court yesterday upheld Japan’s state immunity to dismiss a lawsuit raised by a group of women who were forced by Japan to work in brothels during World War II, contradicting a ruling in an earlier case that ordered Tokyo to compensate victims.
Remnants of Japan’s 1910 to 1945 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula remain contentious for both sides, with many surviving “comfort women” — a Japanese euphemism for the sexual abuse victims — demanding Tokyo’s formal apology and compensation.
Diplomatic tension flared in January when another judge at the Seoul Central District Court ruled in favor of other women in a separate case, for the first time ordering Japan to pay compensation.
Photo: AFP
That verdict had drawn a rebuke from Tokyo, which says that the issue was settled under a 1965 treaty and a 2015 deal.
However, a judge at the same court yesterday recognized Japan’s right to state immunity from overseas lawsuits, contradicting the January ruling that Japan could not assert immunity for “a crime against humanity.”
“If an exception on state immunity is acknowledged, a diplomatic clash would be inevitable during the process of forcing the ruling’s implementation,” Judge Min Seong-cheol said, dismissing the case brought by the 20 “comfort women” victims and their relatives.
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said that the latest verdict was “different” from the earlier ruling, but declined to elaborate, citing the need for closer examination.
“That January ruling was clearly against both international law and bilateral agreements, and as such was extremely regrettable and unacceptable,” he told a briefing.
Lee Yong-soo, a “comfort women” victim and one of the plaintiffs, called the ruling “absurd, nonsense,” saying that she would seek international litigation over the case.
Min also said that the issue should be resolved via diplomatic consultations, and the 2015 agreement could provide the groundwork for a solution, despite some flaws in negotiations.
Under that deal, Tokyo issued an official apology and provided ￥1 billion (US$9.25 million at the current exchange rate) to a fund to help the victims, with both sides promising to “irreversibly” end the dispute.
However, some victims, including Lee, had rejected the settlement, saying that the South Korean government did not sufficiently consult them during the negotiations.
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