South Korea approves bill to choose 'comfort women' memorial day

On November 24, the South Korean National Assembly passed a bill to designate August 14 as a day to commemorate "comfort women" - those forced into sexual slavery for Japanese soldiers during World War II.

A statue of a 'comfort woman' stands outside the Japanese Consulate in Busan, South Korea. (Source: AFP/VNA)

During a plenary session, the South Korean National Assembly passed a law amendment to better support Korean women who were forced to provide sexual services to Japanese soldiers during the 1910-1945 period and to remember their suffering.

The amended law requires the government to listen to victims' opinions before making policies related to their rights.

August 14, 1991 was the day Kim Hak-sun, a "comfort woman", first appeared in public to speak out about the suffering endured by sex slaves on the Korean Peninsula during the war.
In late 2015, the administration of former South Korean President Park Geun-hye signed an agreement with Japan under which Tokyo and Seoul agreed to "completely and definitively" resolve the "comfort women" issue - a long-standing source of diplomatic tension between the two countries.

Last year, Japan approved a fund to support South Korea, transferring 1 billion yen (about $9 million) to a fund to support victims of "comfort women" and their families.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe also expressed "regret and apology" for the trauma the victims experienced.

However, Korean public opinion criticized this agreement for not representing the voice of the victims, without an official apology or commitment from Japan to take legal responsibility for the "comfort women" issue.

After taking office in May, President Moon Jae-in's administration reviewed the bilateral agreement, as promised during his campaign.

According to statistics, more than 200,000 women, mostly women on the Korean Peninsula, were forced into sexual slavery for Japanese soldiers during World War II.

According to Vietnamnet