South Korean President Moon Jae-in said on December 28 that a 2015 agreement with Japan over South Korean “comfort women” was seriously flawed and urged follow-up measures to resolve the contentious issue.
The 2015 deal with Japan over “comfort women” forced to work in Japan’s wartime military brothels failed to meet the victims’ needs, throwing ties into doubt as both countries seek to rein in North Korea.
“The agreement cannot solve the comfort women issue,” Moon said, calling the deal a “political agreement that excludes victims and the public” and violates general principles in international society concerning resolution of historical issues, according to a Blue House statement.
Seoul's previous conservative government did not communicate with the victims before reaching the deal, it was revealed. And the statement came a day after a state-appointed panel got to know about this.
Certain terms of the deal weren't made known like the term 'sexual slavery' would be avoided and there would be a specific plan to remove a bronze statue representing sex slaves in front of its Seoul embassy, said the panel.
Under the 2015 deal, endorsed by Moon’s predecessor and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Japan apologised to former comfort women and provided 1 billion yen ($8.8 million) to a fund to help them. While South Korea said it will try to resolve Japanese grievance over the statue in front of the embassy.
The deal came under heavy criticism in South Korea where many thought the government settled for far too less. Japan has been angry that South Korea hasn't taken specific steps to remove the statue and similar monuments in other places in the country, insisting there has been a clear understanding to do so.
"It has been confirmed that the 2015 comfort women negotiation between South Korea had serious flaws, both in process and content," Moon said in a statement read out by his spokesman.
"Despite the burden of the past agreement being a formal promise between governments that was ratified by the leaders of both countries, I, as president and with the Korean people, once again firmly state that this agreement does not resolve the issue over comfort women."
The Foreign Ministry said government officials will hold extensive discussions with victims and experts before deciding whether to pursue changes to the deal. Japanese officials have said a renegotiation is unacceptable.
Some experts see it as unlikely that Moon's government will spark a full-blown diplomatic row with Japan by scrapping the deal when the allies face pressing needs to form a strong united front against North Korea's growing nuclear threat.
Historians say tens of thousands of women from around Asia, many of them Korean, were sent to front-line military brothels to provide sex to Japanese soldiers during World War II.
