S. Korea launches task force to review 'comfort women' agreement with Japan

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South Korea's foreign ministry on Monday launched a task force to review the agreement with Japan on "comfort women," a euphemism for women, mostly of the Korean Peninsula, who were forced into sex slavery for Japanese military brothels before and during World War II.

South Korea and Japan reached a "final and irreversible" agreement in December 2015, under which Tokyo offered an apology and one billion yen (now 9 million US dollars) to open a foundation for the dwindling number of comfort women who are still alive.

People sit around the statue while being surrounded by police in Busan on December 30, 2016. /CFP Photo

The deal, reached by the previous Seoul administration of Park Geun-hye, was condemned by some of the women and South Korean activists, who took issue with Japan's refusal to accept formal legal responsibility and questioned the sincerity of its apology.

The inaugural task force meeting was held earlier in the day to make an overall review over the negotiation process and what was agreed to, according to Seoul's foreign ministry.

The task force is composed of nine members, including experts on South Korea-Japan relations, international politics and human rights issues as well as foreign ministry officials.

A statue symbolizing women forced into wartime sexual slavery installed in front of the Japanese Consulate in the South Korean port city of Busan on December 30, 2016. /CFP Photo

Hundreds of thousands of victims, mostly Korean women, were coerced into the sex enslavement by the Imperial Japan, but the incumbent Japanese cabinet, led by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, had yet to sincerely apologize and take legal responsibility for the war crime against humanity.

The task force would adhere to the victims-centered principle by listening carefully to the voices of living victims, said the foreign ministry which aimed to reach a final conclusion on the agreement by the end of this year and to make the conclusion known to the public.

President Moon Jae-in, who took office on May 10, said after his inauguration that most of South Korean people and the victims could not accept the "comfort women" agreement, but the president had yet to confirm whether to renegotiate the agreement.

(Source: Xinhua, AFP)