SOUTH KOREA: A Chinese man, who claims his grandmother was a sex slave for the Japanese army during World War II, is arrested for attacking the Japanese Embassy in Seoul

Record ID: 466067

  • Title: SOUTH KOREA: A Chinese man, who claims his grandmother was a sex slave for the Japanese army during World War II, is arrested for attacking the Japanese Embassy in Seoul
  • Date: 9th January 2012
  • Summary: SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (JANUARY 8, 2012) (REUTERS) VIEW OF BRIEFING CONFERENCE ROOM JOURNALISTS SPOKESMAN STANDING AT PODIUM JOURNALISTS TYPING (SOUNDBITE) (Korean) PARK CHAN-WOO, SENIOR DETECTIVE AT JONGNO POLICE STATION OF SOUTH KOREA, SAYING: "He started to throw firebombs at the embassy as soon as he arrived in an empty parking lot and put down his bag in front of the bicycle stand. He threw out all of them in 10 seconds. But his first firebomb caught the attention of a conscripted policeman on duty. So he was immediately arrested while throwing the rest of the four firebombs." VIEW OF CONFERENCE ROOM JOURNALIST (SOUNDBITE) (Korean) PARK CHAN-WOO, SENIOR DETECTIVE AT JONGNO POLICE STATION OF SOUTH KOREA, SAYING: "He testified it's true that he's had hostile feelings against Japan and its government since he knew his grandmother was forced to be a sex slave for Japan during the Pacific War. Also he said he committed the crime because he got furious at Japanese Prime Minister Noda's 'reckless' remark in early December and his refusal to discuss the sex slave issue." VARIOUS OF JOURNALISTS VIEW OF CONFERENCE ROOM JAPANESE EMBASSY IN SEOUL JAPANESE FLAG VARIOUS OF POLICEMEN ON DUTY CCTV CAMERA VARIOUS OF POLICE BUS VIEW OF EMBASSY OF JAPAN
  • Embargoed: 24th January 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Korea, Republic of
  • Country: South Korea
  • Topics: International Relations,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVADU8KQZEKZCIR54LEEYJDH67EU
  • Story Text: A Chinese man who reportedly said his grandmother was one of many thousands forced into prostitution for the Japanese army during World War Two was arrested on Sunday (January 8), for a firebomb attack at the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, police said.
    The 37-year-old man, identified by his family name Liu, hurled four petrol bombs at the embassy building in central Seoul on Sunday morning, scorching an outer part of the wall, a Seoul police officer said.
    "He started to throw firebombs at the embassy as soon as he arrived in an empty parking lot and put down his bag in front of the bicycle stand. He threw out all of them in 10 seconds. But his first firebomb caught the attention of a conscripted policeman on duty. So he was immediately arrested while throwing the rest of the four firebombs," said Park Chan-woo, senior detective at Jongno Police Station, during the news conference.
    There were no reports of injuries.
    Police were questioning Liu, a resident of the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, who entered the country on a tourist visa via Japan late last month, to determine the reasons behind the attack, the officer said.
    "He testified it's true that he's had hostile feelings against Japan and its government since he knew his grandmother was forced to be a sex slave for Japan during the Pacific War. Also he said he committed the crime because he got furious at Japanese Prime Minister Noda's 'reckless' remark in early December and his refusal to discuss the sex slave issue," said Park.
    The Yonhap news agency said the man had told investigators that his grandmother had served as a "comfort woman" for Japanese troops and that he had staged the attack in protest against Japan's wartime atrocities.
    Historians say hundreds of thousands of women from Asian countries, mostly Koreans and Chinese, were forced to work at front-line brothels for the Japanese military.
    The Korean peninsula was under Japanese colonial rule from 1910 to 1945.
    Tokyo has apologised for its treatment of the women but refused to hold talks on compensating the ageing victims.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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