WWII South Korean Sex Slaves Sue the Government to Make Japan Apologize

The South Korean “comfort” women who were victims of sexual slavery during World War II have collectively rejected the payments being offered to them by the government of Japan following an agreement hatched by the Japanese and South Korean governments.

The group instead decided to file a lawsuit against the South Korean government for failing to hold Japan to be legally responsible after agreeing to a settlement last December, reported Al Jazeera.

According to the victims, the amount is not enough to establish Japan’s responsibility over the crimes committed to them during the war. Just days after South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said the surviving victims will each be eligible to receive around $90,000, the victims filed the case.

The surviving comfort women however, have deemed the agreement as being unsatisfying and have repeatedly stated that they were not protesting for money. The women are still waiting for the public apology from the Japanese government, and the correction of Japanese history textbooks.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Park Geun-hye reached a formal agreement in December of last year to settle the dispute with Japan agreeing to pay ¥1 billion (₩9.7 billion; $8.3 million) to a fund supporting surviving victims. South Korea, for its part, agreed to stop criticizing Japan about the issue.

The South Korean government is set to distribute the fund for the forty-six remaining elderly comfort women, seeking to consider the matter “finally and irreversibly resolved.” The ministry also announced that the families of the deceased victims will receive about $18,000.

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