- Title: South Korean court declines review of comfort women deal with Japan
- Date: 27th December 2019
- Summary: SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (DECEMBER 27, 2019) (REUTERS) ***WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** SOUTH KOREAN CONSTITUTIONAL COURT JUDGES BOWING AND TAKING SEATS JUDGES AND AUDIENCES AT COURT ROOM AUDIENCE MEMBERS SITTING JUDGES SITTING EMBLEM OF COURT, READING (Korean): "CONSTITUTION" JUDGES INCLUDING CHIEF JUDGE, YOO NAM-SEOK (CENTRE), SITTING HEARING IN PROGRESS LAWYER REPRESENTING FORMER COMFORT WOMEN, RHEE DONG-JOON, STANDING IN FRONT OF COURT BUILDING / MEDIA GATHERING AND HOLDING MICROPHONES (SOUNDBITE) (Korean) LAWYER REPRESENTING COMFORT WOMEN, RHEE DONG-JOON, SAYING: "This could've been an opportunity to address their (former comfort women) pain. It is disappointing that the Constitutional Court failed to bring closure to their hurting." RHEE SURROUNDED BY MEDIA EXTERIOR OF SOUTH KOREA'S CONSTITUTIONAL COURT SIGN READING (Korean): "CONSTITUTIONAL COURT" FLAG OF SOUTH KOREA'S CONSTITUTIONAL COURT
- Embargoed: 10th January 2020 07:23
- Keywords: Constitutional Court Japan South Korea agreement comfort women file lawyer verdict
- Location: SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA/ UNIDENTIFIED LOCATIONS
- City: SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA/ UNIDENTIFIED LOCATIONS
- Country: South Korea
- Topics: Crime/Law/Justice,Judicial Process/Court Cases/Court Decisions
- Reuters ID: LVA001BBR1WZR
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: South Korea's Constitutional Court on Friday (December 27) dismissed an appeal brought by former "comfort women" to strike down a controversial agreement on the issue signed by South Korean and Japan.
"Comfort women" is a euphemism for the girls and women - many of them Korean - forced into prostitution at Japanese military brothels.
Constitutional Court President Yoo Nam-seok said the agreement was a political one that tried to resolve the comfort women issue and, unlike a treaty between two countries, did not create legal responsibilities on the part of the governments.
Rhee Dong-joon, a lawyer representing the plaintiff women, said he was disappointed that the court failed to bring closure to the pain suffered by these former comfort women.
Under the 2015 deal, Japan apologized to victims and provided 1 billion yen ($8.8 million) to a fund to help them. The two governments had agreed the issue would be "irreversibly resolved" if both fulfilled their obligations.
The court's decision came after South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held talks for the first time in 15 months earlier this week, after the worst period of tension between the countries in decades when historic disputes spilled into the trade arena.
(Production: Dogyun Kim, Minwoo Park) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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