SEOUL – A South Korean court on Friday ordered the Japanese government to pay compensation to 12 World War II sex slaves or their families, in an unprecedented ruling likely to infuriate Tokyo.
The Seoul Central District Court ruled that Japan should pay the victims 100 million won ($91,000) each, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported.
It is the first civilian legal case in South Korea against Tokyo by wartime sex slaves for Japanese troops, who were euphemistically labelled “comfort women.”
Mainstream historians say up to 200,000 women, mostly from Korea but also other parts of Asia including China, were forced to work in Japanese military brothels during World War II. (AFP)
