SEOUL • A South Korean court yesterday ordered the Japanese government to pay compensation to 12 World War II sex slaves or their families, in an unprecedented ruling that has infuriated Tokyo.
The Seoul Central District Court said Japan should pay the victims 100 million won (S$121,000) each, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported.
It is the first civilian legal case in South Korea against Tokyo by wartime sex slaves or "comfort women" for Japanese troops.
The ruling comes despite a 1965 treaty between Seoul and Tokyo which declared that claims between them and their nationals had been settled.
Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato called the verdict "unacceptable", urging Seoul to make an "appropriate response".
Tokyo's Foreign Ministry summoned South Korean Ambassador to Japan Nam Gwan-pyo to lodge a complaint.
The court verdict said Imperial Japan was responsible for the "comfort women" system. "The plaintiffs, who were in their late teens or early 20s, were subjected to repeated sexual exploitation. It amounted to an illegal act against humanity and the defendant has an obligation to compensate the victims for their mental suffering."
Yesterday's ruling came in a legal process that began eight years ago and several of the original plaintiffs have since died, to be replaced by family members.
Tokyo, which boycotted the proceeding, insists all compensation issues stemming from its colonial rule were settled in a 1965 treaty and linked agreement normalising diplomatic relations between the neighbours.
Under them, Japan paid South Korea financial reparations - which Seoul used to contribute to its transformation into an economic powerhouse - and the document said that claims between the states and their nationals had been "settled completely and finally".
But the court ruled that the agreement did not end the women's right to seek compensation from Tokyo, which it said bore liability for their suffering decades ago.
"I am deeply moved by today's ruling," said Mr Kim Kang-won, the women's lawyer. "It is the first such verdict for victims who suffered at the hands of Japanese troops," he said, insisting that at the time of the 1965 treaty, "the issue of comfort women was not discussed at all".
The Japanese government denies it is directly responsible for the wartime abuses, insisting that the victims were recruited by civilians and that the military brothels were commercially operated.
The dispute has festered despite the treaty, and Seoul and Tokyo reached a deal in 2015 aimed at "finally and irreversibly" resolving it with a Japanese apology and the formation of a one billion yen (S$12.77 million) fund for survivors.
But the government of President Moon Jae-in declared the agreement reached under his conservative predecessor faulty and effectively nullified it, citing the lack of victims' consent.
The move led to a bitter diplomatic dispute that spread to affect trade and security ties.
The same court is due to rule next week on a similar case brought against Tokyo by another 20 women and their families.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS
