Statement on the Korean court’s decision on “comfort women” reparations

CARE’s statement on the recent decision by the Korean court on the “comfort women” reparations by Japan 

The Seoul Central District Court has issued a historic decision, ordering the Japanese government to pay reparations to twelve Korean “comfort women” in the amount of approximately USD 91,800 each.  Seven of the plaintiffs passed away during the proceedings, highlighting the urgency for the remaining “grandmothers” or halmoni.

We welcome the ruling as a symbolic step towards justice for “comfort women.” It establishes an important principle that individuals can bring claims against states seeking to assert “sovereign immunity” for crimes against humanity.  

The reparations ordered, however, fall short of the seven demands for justice that the Korean survivors have articulated for the past three decades.  Paramount among them is an official apology by the Japanese government.  Thus far, the Japanese government has issued only vague statements that do not specify its true role or the crimes committed, have been surrounded by denials and attempts at disavowal, and were never made to the survivors themselves.  To that end, the survivors’ other demands are:  acknowledgment of the crimes, full disclosure and investigation, punishment of the perpetrators, public education, and memorials and museums, in addition to legal compensation.

The decision does not bind all of the living Korean survivors, some of whose claims will be decided by the District Court next week, nor is the issue limited to Japan and South Korea.  The Japanese imperial military trafficked hundreds of thousands of “comfort women” from more than thirteen Asian and European nations and detained them in brutal conditions amounting to sex slavery.  Their legacy continues to bear upon the survivors and victims of sexual and gender-based violence and exploitation, both in and around militarized and conflict zones today.

Until the demands of all survivors from every victim state are fulfilled, justice cannot be said to have been fully served.  So long as the Japanese government persists in erasing and revising this crucial and overlooked history, our mission prevails and the work goes on.