hankyoreh

Former comfort women Kim Bok-dong (right) and Gil Won-ok express their views on the Reconciliation and Healing Foundation for comfort women

The Reconciliation and Healing Foundation for comfort women began the first main step toward cash payments chiefly to survivors who accepted the project’s proposal - but without receiving the consent of survivors as a whole.

The South Korean government now looks certain to face harsh criticism for stressing only the implementation of its agreement with Tokyo on the issue, even after Japan’s ongoing strong demands for the relocation of a statue symbolizing the comfort women and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s recent remarks stating he does not have any intention to send a letter of apology to survivors.

An Oct. 14 announcement by the foundation put the total number of comfort women survivors at 46 as of Dec. 28 of last year (the current number is 40), including 30 living on their own and 13 in facilities in South Korea and three residing overseas. While it attempted interviews with 32 of the 46, three refused or postponed them, and only 29 of the survivors confirmed their intention to accept the project, the foundation said. In eleven cases, the victims themselves indicated their intention. Thirteen others expressed acceptance with the help of a guardian due to infirmity; five died in the period after the agreement, leaving surviving family members to indicate their acceptance.

Cash payments of 100 million won (US$88,000) are to be made to survivors and 20 million won (US$17,600) to the families of those who have since passed away. The foundation currently plans to organize memorial projects while continuing to accept applications for cash support. It also plans to continue attempting to persuade survivors who previously refused interviews. For the 199 of the 245 government-registered and/or -recognized comfort women survivors who died before last year’s agreement, support applications are to be accepted from family members.

“We’ve heard many people asking us to hurry up because the survivors who want support are at such an advanced age,” said foundation secretary-general Heo Gwang-mu. “We plan to proceed as fast as possible with the payments, and while there are of course some who have refused interviews or who don’t like the agreement, we also want to hear their opinions.”

Comfort women survivor groups were quick to denounce the move.

“The government is merely dividing the survivors as it insists on going through with enforcing an unjust agreement by playing up the numbers of survivors receiving support, while it now dismisses the voices of survivors who have testified here and overseas to their indescribably painful experiences as Japanese military comfort women and demanded a restoration of justice as the ‘voices of a small minority,’” the Korean Council for the Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan (Jeongdaehyeop) said in a statement.

Former comfort woman Kim Bok-dong declared at a press conference that she has “no intention of having an interview with the foundation, let alone accepting the money.”

“Our hope we will continue tol battle Japan and receive an apology and lawful compensation from Japan, no matter what actions the government takes,” Kim said.

“If the government does this kind of project, it’s simply selling us out for compensation money. The government should do its thing and not interfere with our battle,” she added.

Ahn Shin-kweon, director of the House of Sharing residence where ten survivors currently live, told the Hankyoreh in a telephone interview that the foundation “needs to halt its distribution project” for the billion yen payment from Japan.

“The billion yen sent by Japan isn’t even compensation, and the moment the money is distributed to the survivors, Japan is going to think its responsibility for the comfort women issue is over and done with,” Ahn said.

“This isn’t just a matter of support for these women - it’s an issue for all South Koreans who have sacrificed and fought for women’s rights and a matter of national pride,” he added.

“We intend to present our opinions strongly through press onferences and protests,” Ahn pledged.

By Kim Mee-hyang and Kim Ji-hoon, staff reporters

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]