SEOUL -- The ruling handed down earlier this month by the Seoul Central District Court ordering the Japanese government to pay compensation to 12 former South Korean "comfort women" was effectively finalized on Saturday.
The deadline for the Japanese side to appeal the decision was 12 a.m. Saturday. Japanese government representatives were not present during the court's deliberations and the government did not appeal the ruling.
The Jan. 8 ruling refused to recognize the principle of sovereign immunity under international law, which states that a sovereign nation is not subject to the jurisdiction of other nations.
The court ordered the Japanese government to pay 100 million won (about 9.4 million yen) in compensation to each of the 12 plaintiffs.
The Japanese government intends to refuse to pay the compensation.
"We are exploring ways to seize the assets of the Japanese government in South Korea for the compensation. We have been unable to find any seizable assets yet," an attorney for the plaintiffs told the Yomiuri Shimbun on Friday.
It is widely believed that seizing the assets of a foreign government would be difficult under international law.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in said at a press conference on Jan. 18 that his country would continue talks with Japan to explore a solution that [the plaintiffs] can agree on. However, Moon has not proposed any concrete solutions, and it also remains uncertain whether the plaintiffs can be persuaded.
At the press conference, Moon said that the South Korean government recognized the 2015 deal reached between Japan and South Korea, which confirmed that the issue has been settled "finally and irreversibly," as an "official agreement" between the two countries. The agreement had been effectively nullified under the Moon administration.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
