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Lee Yong-soo, a survivor of the Japanese military’s “comfort women” system of sexual slavery, rejoices after the Seoul High Court rules in favor of her and other plaintiffs in a compensation case on Nov. 23. (Yonhap)

“We reverse the lower court’s ruling. The plaintiff should be awarded the full amount of compensation and paid for the damages incurred due to compensation’s delay.”

Thursday, 2 pm. Seoul Central District Court, Room 308. As the judge read the court decision, 95-year-old Lee Yong-soo, a victim of Japan’s “comfort women” system of wartime sexual slavery, jumped out of her wheelchair. With her hands clasped together and tears streaming down her face, she bowed her head before the judge.

While Lee was one of 11 victims of the Japanese military’s system of sexual slavery who first filed the lawsuit in late 2016, she now remains the sole surviving “comfort woman” plaintiff.

If Thursday’s court ruling is finalized in a higher court, all of the lawsuits filed by the victims of the so-called “comfort women” system for damages against the Japanese government will end with all cases being won by the plaintiffs.

Advocates for the victims said that this latest ruling in favor of the plaintiffs paves the way for survivors to demand an apology and responsible compensation directly from the Japanese government.

The 33rd civil division of Seoul High Court (under Judge Koo Hoe-geun) reversed a lower court’s dismissal of a lawsuit for damages filed against the Japanese government by a total of 16 people, including Lee and the late Kwak Ye-nam and Kim Bok-dong, and granted all their claims on Thursday.

Lee and other victims of the Japanese military’s sexual slavery system, along with family members of comfort women who have died, filed a lawsuit against the Japanese government in December 2016, demanding compensation of 200 million won per person, or around US$150,000.

What put the decision of the first and appellate courts at odds was whether the doctrine of state immunity should be recognized.

“[Recent] customary international law states that Japan’s illegal acts were committed against Korean nationals on Korean territory, so state immunity should not be recognized and, therefore, it is appropriate to recognize the jurisdiction of the South Korean court,” the appellate court found.

State immunity is a rule of international law that protects states from each other’s jurisdiction by preventing the domestic courts of one state from exercising jurisdiction over the government and property of another state. In this case, the first court recognized the doctrine of state immunity and dismissed the suit.

The court also recognized the illegality of the Japanese government’s actions.

“The Empire of Japan, the predecessor of the state of Japan, is also obligated to comply with treaties and international legal instruments to which the state of Japan is a party under Article 98(2) of the current constitution of Japan,” the court found, specifying the Convention with Respect to the Laws and Customs of War on Land, the Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Women and Children, the Slavery Convention, and the Forced Labour Convention.

The court went on to add that “not only did officials of the Japanese Empire engage in acts of ‘selling or buying another person for the purpose of transporting them from one country to another country,’ which is punished by Article 226 of Japan’s Penal Code, but the government of the Japanese Empire actively aided and abetted such acts.”

The court did not rule on whether the 1965 claims settlement agreement and the 2015 “comfort women” deal between Korea and Japan extinguished the victims’ right to claim damages.

The court said it “did not make a separate determination as there was no defense.” As the Japanese government has not responded to the South Korean court’s ruling, the sentence is likely to stand.

Korean survivors of the Japanese “comfort women” system, including Lee, had been calling for action by the South Korean government on the issue of compensation. However, after the 2015 “comfort women” agreement, they determined that they shouldn’t hang their hopes on the South Korean government, and in a Hail Mary filed a lawsuit for damages in a South Korean court.

However, despite the victory, the road to achieving actual compensation seems rocky. Japanese government assets will be forced to be sold to pay for the compensation, which is complicated by diplomatic issues.

There are currently two main lawsuits lodged by victims against the Japanese government.

The first involves the House of Sharing, a care facility for comfort women. This was a lawsuit for damages filed by 12 victims, including the late Bae Chun-hee, against the Japanese government was ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in January 2021 and was soon finalized. But three years on, the plaintiffs have yet to see any substantial compensation.

The plaintiffs in the first lawsuit sought a court-ordered disclosure of property and litigation costs to recover damages and costs. The court ruled that the legal fees were “uncollectible,” citing the doctrine of state immunity.

A different court then granted the request for a specification of Japanese government properties, ordering it to disclose a list of its properties in South Korea. Based on this decision, the plaintiffs confirmed that the Japanese government has a right to claim the return of contributions to the now-defunct Reconciliation and Healing Foundation, and are considering seizing it.

In the second case, brought with the backing of the Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issues of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan and Minbyun, which was ruled on on Thursday, plaintiffs are seeking an apology and compensation directly from the Japanese government instead of seizing Japan’s right to request a return of the contributions.

“Until today’s ruling, there were difficulties in conducting investigative campaigns and urging the Japanese government to fulfill its compensation obligations due to conflicting rulings,” said Kwon Tae-yoon, the lead attorney for the plaintiffs, at a press conference.

“Now that the obstacles have been resolved and the rights of the victims have been confirmed by the court, we will call for a direct apology and responsible compensation from the Japanese government."

By Lee Jae-ho, staff reporter

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