SEOUL -- In July, South Korean President Moon Jae-in's administration dissolved the foundation to support former so-called comfort women, which had been established on the basis of the 2015 Japan-South Korea accord (see below), and effectively dropped the deal as it "does not appropriately reflect the will of the parties concerned."
However, this action has been questioned by some former comfort women and people who had been involved in the Reconciliation and Healing Foundation.
'Bilateral deal'
In mid-August, a 91-year-old former comfort woman who spoke to The Yomiuri Shimbun on condition of anonymity said, "I was able to receive a certain amount of money [after the signing of the Japan-South Korea agreement], and I appreciate it."
The woman was taken to China at the age of 16 and forced to work as a comfort woman for about a year. When the foundation provided the money, she received 100 million won (about 9 million yen), arguing to herself that "I became sacrificed for this much."
Even so, the woman said all the remarks she heard from the Japanese side after the deal were "not good." She was hurt when Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said in the Diet session that he "had no intention whatever of" sending a letter of apology to former comfort women, which the foundation asked the prime minister to offer.
At the same time, she said she has harbored doubts about the Moon administration. "I believe that the two governments reached an agreement to continue to support halmeonis [an affectionate Korean term for grandmothers] and build a place of relief and a hospital. The office was torn down, although it still has the money left," the woman said.
Who are the 'parties'?
Of the 47 former comfort women who were then still alive at the time of the agreement, 35 survivors, including this woman, accepted the money in cash from the foundation.
A person in the foundation said, "I believe the majority of halmeonis were not satisfied a hundred percent but accepted the agreement."
According to the person, the former comfort women who received the money said that they wanted to use it for their grandchildren.
In a verification report released in December 2017 by South Korea's Gender Equality and Family Ministry, there were no cases found in which the foundation "forced [the former comfort women] to receive the money."
However in January 2018, the Moon administration concluded, "An agreement that does not appropriately reflect the will of halmeonis -- who are the parties concerned -- is not a true solution to the issue."
For the Moon administration, the "parties" mean some former comfort women who oppose the agreement and their support groups. A civic group that set up a statue of a girl in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul is demanding seven items, including compensation and punishment of those responsible, based on a condition that the Japanese government acknowledges legal responsibility. It can be said that the dissolution of the foundation was a measure to respond to such voices and to make the agreement meaningless.
Foregone conclusion
For Moon, who took office on the occasion of the impeachment and dismissal of former South Korean President Park Geun-hye, the denial of the agreement, which symbolizes the previous administration, was a foregone conclusion.
While dissolving the foundation, the Moon administration has stated that it would not ask the Japanese government to renegotiate the issue. Even if Seoul does not demand renegotiation with Tokyo, the issue of comfort women will remain a constant irritant as long as Seoul continues to emphasize that it is "unresolved."
In fact, a procedure to start a trial began in March this year regarding a lawsuit filed by former comfort women, who are supported by a civic group, against the Japanese government.
The former comfort woman also said, "I once asked [the civil group] whether they would [continue to protest] even after all the halmeonis died, and they said they will."
-- 2015 Japan-South Korea accord on the issue of former comfort women
The foreign ministers of Japan and South Korea made an announcement after their meeting in Seoul on Dec. 28, 2015, mainly to confirm the four following points: 1. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe expresses anew his "most sincere apologies and remorse"; 2. The Japanese government implements projects for recovering the women's honor and dignity using its budget; 3. On the premise of these points, the issue is resolved finally and irreversibly with this announcement; 4. The South Korean government strives to resolve the issue of the statue built in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul by taking measures in an appropriate manner. The Reconciliation and Healing Foundation was established in order to realize the second point.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
