South Korea sets Aug. 14 as comfort women memorial day

November 25, 2017

Seoul- South Korea's parliament on Friday enacted a law revision to designate Aug. 14 as the day to honor so-called wartime comfort women, despite Japanese government concerns conveyed through diplomatic channels.

Tokyo recently warned that the South Korean move could hamper both sides' efforts to develop a future-oriented relationship.

Aug. 14 is the anniversary of the first public testimony by a former comfort woman, Kim Hak-sun, in 1991. On the anniversary, a rally to demand an official Japanese government apology is held every year mainly by supporters of former comfort women, who were forced to sexually serve Japanese soldiers before and during World War II.

The revised law obliges the central and local governments to make efforts to hold relevant events on the memorial day.

The revision is expected to be promulgated by mid-December, according to the parliament's secretariat. The law is set to take effect in six months from the promulgation, making Aug. 14 the official memorial day from next year.

The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family will strengthen its assistance to former comfort women and increase memorial events further, an official said following the passage of the revision.

The revision was also welcomed by Ahn Shin-kwon, head of the House of Sharing, a shelter for former comfort women in South Korea.

In December 2015, the Japanese and South Korean governments reached an agreement to finally and irreversibly resolve the issue of comfort women.

In the deal, the two governments vowed to refrain from arguing with each other about the comfort women issue in the international arena including at the United Nations.

The revised law stipulates that the memorial day is designed to remember comfort women and publicize the issue both at home and abroad.

The law also requires the South Korean government to consult with former comfort women about policies related to them and disclose the content of these policies to the public. Jiji Press