The victims of the comfort women filed a second damage compensation lawsuit in our courts and won the second trial. The second trial court ruled that the Japanese government must pay 200 million won each as claimed. Accordingly, the first trial, which dismissed the case on the grounds that a sovereign state like Japan is exempt from the jurisdiction of another country, was overturned. Grandmother Lee Yong-soo, who filed the lawsuit, welcomed the decision with cheers.
On the afternoon of the 23rd, at the Seoul High Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, during the second trial sentencing date of the lawsuit filed by former Japanese military 'comfort women' victims and their families against the Japanese government for damages, Grandmother Lee Yong-soo is seen rejoicing after the court overturned the first trial's dismissal ruling. [Image source=Yonhap News]
The Civil Division 33 of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judges Gu Hoe-geun, Hwang Seong-mi, Heo Ik-su) on the 23rd ruled in the second trial of the damage compensation lawsuit filed by Grandmother Lee Yong-soo and the bereaved families of the late Kwak Ye-nam and Kim Bok-dong, among 16 plaintiffs, against the Japanese government, "to cancel the first trial ruling and fully recognize the plaintiffs' claimed amount." It was also decided that the litigation costs would be borne by the Japanese government.
A dismissal is a decision made without examining the merits when the lawsuit does not meet the requirements. The second trial issued a ruling indicating that the first trial's judgment was incorrect. The court stated, "It is reasonable to recognize the jurisdiction of the Republic of Korea's courts over the defendant, the Japanese government, under international customary law," and "The defendant's illegal acts during the mobilization process of the comfort women are acknowledged, and appropriate consolation money must be paid."
It also pointed out, "The victims in this case were deprived of even minimal freedom and forced to engage in unwanted sexual acts daily with dozens of Japanese soldiers, resulting in numerous injuries or risks of pregnancy and death, and even after the war, they suffered damages that made it impossible to adapt to normal social life."
Furthermore, it judged, "The defendant's actions constitute torts under the Civil Act of the Republic of Korea," and "It is reasonable to consider that the consolation money per victim exceeds the 200 million won claimed by the plaintiffs in this case."
Grandmother Lee Yong-soo, who came to the courtroom in a wheelchair that day, raised both arms and shouted cheers with tears as she left the courtroom after the verdict. She said, "Thank you. Thank you. Truly, thank you. I also offer thanks on behalf of the grandmothers in heaven."
Earlier, in December 2016, Grandmother Lee Yong-soo and 21 other victims and bereaved families of Japanese military comfort women filed a lawsuit against the Japanese government demanding 200 million won per person in compensation. In April 2021, the first trial court of the Seoul Central District Court dismissed the lawsuit, applying the principle of "state immunity" (sovereign immunity), which exempts a sovereign state like Japan from the jurisdiction of another country.
This contrasted with the first lawsuit filed in January of the same year by 12 comfort women victims including the late Grandmother Bae Chun-hee, where a different division of the same court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, ordering the payment of 100 million won per person. The court in the first lawsuit recognized jurisdiction, stating that state immunity could not be applied to Japan's illegal acts, and since the Japanese government did not appeal based on the principle of non-response, the ruling was finalized as is.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
