5 of 8 execs of comfort women foundation offer to resign

December 30, 2017

Seoul- Five of the eight directors of a South Korean foundation launched under the 2015 Japan-South Korea accord to resolve the issue of comfort women have offered to resign, it was learned on Saturday.

If the resignations of the five, all from the private sector, are accepted, the foundation will effectively suspend its business as its charter stipulates that the group be run by five or more directors.

The foundation was established to support former comfort women in South Korea, who were forced to sexually serve Japanese troops before and during World War II.

With a one-billion-yen contribution from the Japanese government, the foundation is tasked with providing about 10 million yen to each of former comfort women who were alive at the time of the conclusion of the bilateral accord in December 2015 and some 2 million yen to the relatives of deceased women.

So far, 24 of the 32 surviving victims have accepted the benefits.

A foundation official said the organization will not necessarily be dissolved as new directors are expected to be appointed following the five's resignations.

Still, it is uncertain whether the administration of South Korean President Moon Jae-in will allow the comfort women foundation to continue operating, after a Foreign Ministry task force earlier this week released the results of its review of the 2015 accord, criticizing it as failing to reflect the victims' opinions. Jiji Press