January 8th – The Central District Court of Seoul, South Korea, issued a first-instance judgment on the 8th, requiring the Japanese government to compensate 100 million won (about $100k) for the economic losses of each of the victims of “comfort women”.
On the same day, Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs immediately summoned the South Korean ambassador to Japan to protest against the verdict.
According to a Japanese television report on the 8th, Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the verdict “taking into account common sense and international law, nothing can be accepted”.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the plaintiffs of the lawsuit were 12 victims of the late Pei Chunji.
They believed that the Japanese government lured or forced them to act as “comfort women” during the colonial rule of South Korea, and filed an application for mediation in August 2013, demanding compensation of 100 million won for economic losses.
After the trial began, the Japanese government requested the dismissal of the lawsuit on the grounds of national sovereign immunity under international law, and the plaintiff claimed that he could be held liable for compensation.
Another first instance of the Japanese claim will also be sentenced on the 13th.
