Dozens of South Korean women forced into sex work for American soldiers stationed in the country have filed a historic lawsuit accusing the U.S. military of playing a systematic role in their abuse.
Known as the “Camptown women”, they claim they were subjected to human rights abuses, forced into regular STD testing, held in isolation, and sometimes subjected to violent treatment at these state-sanctioned brothels.
The lawsuit, filed by more than 100 women, according to AFP, demands a formal apology and financial compensation, while aiming to hold the U.S. military accountable for its role in this state-sponsored system, which local officials and the military allegedly treated as a way to support the economy and protect troops from disease.
The case follows a 2022 ruling in which South Korea’s Supreme Court ordered the government to compensate the women for encouraging prostitution for U.S. military soldiers. The ruling held the government responsible for “justifying and encouraging” prostitution in camp towns to sustain South Korea’s military alliance with the U.S. and attract American dollars.
During the Korean War, there were “special comfort women units” for South Korean soldiers and “comfort stations” for American-led UN forces. After the war, many of these women reportedly worked in gijichon, or “camp towns”, established around American military bases.
At a news conference on Monday, a 66-year-old woman shared her harrowing experience, revealing that she was only 16 when she was trafficked to a pimp who served American soldiers.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, she accused the U.S. military of being fully aware of minors who were exploited but turning a blind eye to the abuse.
She also said that there was a lack of societal support for women in her situation.
The lawsuit demands 10m won (or $7,200) in compensation for each victim.
Unlike the sympathy widely extended to women forced into sexual slavery by Japanese soldiers during World War II, these women have been left to suffer in silence, the lawsuit says.
They described living under a cloud of shame, marginalised by a society that viewed them as a hidden, uncomfortable consequence of the U.S.-South Korea alliance.
According to the women’s testimonies, those who tested positive for sexually transmitted diseases were confined in facilities with barred windows, where they were administered high doses of penicillin. Some died from penicillin shock, the lawsuit alleges.
Their lawyers argued that the U.S. military insisted on their isolation, while local authorities complied, supported by declassified documents presented in court.
The system operated until at least 2004, the lawyer for the women claimed, despite prostitution being illegal in South Korea.
“I still cannot forget being beaten by U.S. soldiers – slapped for lowering my head while pouring drinks, for not smiling, or for no reason at all,” one of the plaintiffs, in her 60s said in a statement shared with AFP. She didn’t want to be named.
She said she was only 17 when she was tricked into the job.
“Every night we were dragged to U.S. soldiers and sexually abused. Every week, we were forced to undergo venereal disease tests. If there was the slightest abnormality, we were locked in a small room and injected with a thick needle of strong penicillin,” she said.
The United States Forces Korea (USFK) told AFP it was "aware of the reports regarding the issue", adding "we will not comment while legal proceedings are ongoing".
"We affirm that we do not condone any behaviour that violates Republic of Korea laws, rules, or directives, and we remain committed to maintaining the highest standards of good order and discipline," the USFK said.
At the time, a local South Korean newspaper described these women as an “illegal, cancer-like, necessary evil”, while also noting that they were “also frontline warriors in winning dollars”.
For decades, the plight of women working in camp towns near U.S. military bases remained largely ignored by the public and authorities in South Korea. Public awareness of sexual exploitation in South Korea’s camp towns grew after the brutal 1992 murder of a woman named Yun Geum-i by an American soldier.
Between 1960 and 2004, at least 11 sex workers were killed by U.S. troops, according to the advocacy group Saewoomtuh.
Meanwhile, in a joint statement, women’s rights activists advocating for the victims accused the U.S. military of having “ignored the South Korean Constitution”, depriving the women of their personal freedom and “destroying their lives”.
“This lawsuit seeks to hold both the South Korean government and the U.S. military authorities jointly liable for the unlawful acts,” lawyer Ha Ju-hee said.
The Independent has reached out to the USFK for a comment.
