SEOUL: A South Korean appellate court on Thursday (Nov 23) ordered Japan to compensate a group of 16 women who were forced to work in Japanese wartime brothels, overturning a lower court ruling that dismissed the case.
The legacy of Japan’s 1910 to 1945 colonial rule of the Korean peninsula remains politically sensitive for both sides, with many surviving “comfort women” – a Japanese euphemism for the sex abuse victims – still demanding Tokyo’s formal apology and compensation.
Japan’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the appellate court’s ruling.
Bilateral relations between the two US allies have been strained for years by the issues of wartime sex abuse and forced labour, but South Korea President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida have sought to improve ties.
The 16 victims filed the suit in 2016, seeking 200 million won (US$155,000) each in compensation. But the Seoul Central District Court dismissed the case in 2021, citing sovereign immunity, a legal doctrine that allows a state to be exempt from a civil suit in foreign courts.
The Seoul High Court, however, reversed the lower court’s decision, recognising the jurisdiction of South Korean courts over the Japanese government as a defendant.