Comfort women of Korea: The agreement to finally settle the “comfort women” row between Japan and South Korea drew divided reactions from surviving Korean women who were forced into the brothels run by the Imperial Japanese military before and during World War II.
In a statement issued after the agreement was reached Monday in Seoul between the Japanese and South Korean foreign ministers, one of the surviving victims, Yu Hui-nam, said she was not satisfied with the accord but will accept it.
Yu said one factor in favor of accepting it is the efforts by government officials to resolve the issue before the end of the year that marks the 50th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic ties between the two countries.
But another former comfort woman, Lee Yong-soo, told a news conference that Japan still needs to make legal compensation to the women to resolve the issue. She stressed that she will ignore the agreement.
A support group for the survivors, the Korean Council for the Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan, which installed a statue of a girl symbolizing comfort women on a sidewalk in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul in December 2011, issued a statement denouncing the agreement.
The group criticized the South Korean government for exceeding its authority by affirming the matter is completely resolved, and for deceiving the victims of Japanese wartime prostitution system as well as the South Korean people.
Observers said it is not yet known how many surviving comfort women will approve of the deal, adding that the accord may become a major issue dividing public opinion in South Korea.
The ruling Saenuri Party welcomed the agreement, praising Tokyo’s explicit expression of responsibility.
In stark contrast, the leading opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy criticized Japan for failing to take responsibility and stressed that the agreement is unacceptable.
The party claimed that President Park Geun-hye deviated from her basic promise to resolve the issue in a way acceptable for both the victims and the public.
