- Title: South Koreans protest, unveil memorial in 'comfort women' row with Japan
- Date: 14th August 2019
- Summary: SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (AUGUST 14, 2019) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF SOUTH KOREAN PROTESTERS AT RALLY CHANTING (Korean): "COMPENSATE", "INVESTIGATE" AND "PUNISH" PROTESTERS GATHERED AROUND STATUE OF GIRL SYMBOLISING "COMFORT WOMEN" PROTESTER HOLDING SIGN READING (English / Korean): "NO NEGLIGENCE / YES APOLOGY" SOUTH KOREAN FORMER COMFORT WOMAN, GIL WON-OK, SPEAKING AS PROTESTERS APPLAUD (SOUNDBITE) (Korean) SOUTH KOREAN FORMER COMFORT WOMAN, GIL WON-OK, SPEAKING: "Thank you very much for coming despite the hot weather." VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS CLAPPING (SOUNDBITE) (Korean) 19-YEAR-OLD SOUTH KOREAN STUDENT, NOH MIN-OCK, SAYING: "We've asked Japan for an apology for a long time, but they're still not owning up to the past, and instead of apologising to the victims of forced labour, they are instead on retaliating - engaging in economic retaliation, which makes me really angry."
- Embargoed: 28th August 2019 10:27
- Keywords: South Korea Japan comfort women rally Japanese embassy statue
- Location: SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA
- City: SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA
- Country: South Korea
- Topics: Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA001AS6UNGN
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Thousands of South Koreans protested outside Japan's embassy in Seoul on Wednesday (August 14) and city officials unveiled a new memorial to so called 'comfort women' at the centre of a row over the two countries' shared history.
Outside Japan's embassy, protesters demanded Tokyo lift curbs on exports of certain high-tech materials to South Korea, which Seoul sees as retaliation over the wartime labour dispute. Japan has cited security reasons for the curbs.
In another part of Seoul, city officials unveiled a new statue donated by a group of Korean Americans to commemorate the women forced to work in Japanese military brothels.
The protests are part of a day of remembrance for women forced to work in Japan's wartime military brothels, an issue that has renewed tensions dating back to Japan's colonial occupation of the Korea peninsula from 1910-1945.
Ties between the two U.S. allies have worsened since South Korea's Supreme Court last year ordered Japanese companies to compensate some wartime forced labourers.
(Production: Daewoung Kim, Dogyun Kim, Hyunyoung Yi) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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