 |
| A statue of a girl that represents the sexual victims by the Japanese military is seen in front of Japanese embassy in Seoul, South Korea, December 28, 2015.(File photo by= Reuters) |
[Asia News Communication = Reporter Reakkana] A South Korean court on Wednesday dismissed a damages lawsuit brought by a group of former "comfort women" against the Japanese government over their treatment at Japanese military brothels during World War II, Kyodo reported.
The Seoul Central District Court ruling follows a contrary one in January by the same court that ordered the Japanese government to compensate 12 women, including those who’ve died since filing the suit. Wednesday's ruling was given by a different panel of judges. Another ruling in favor of former comfort women would have dealt a further blow to Japan-South Korea ties. In dismissing the suit, the court in Wednesday's ruling applied sovereign immunity to the case -- a concept under international law that a state is immune from the jurisdiction of a court in a foreign country, judging South Korea has no jurisdiction over the case.
The court also urged the South Korean government to make efforts "internally and externally" to resolve the comfort women issue, including diplomatic negotiations with Japan. Meanwhile, Lee Yong Soo, a former comfort woman and one of 20 plaintiffs in the latest case, rejected Wednesday's ruling, saying, "Nonsense." The 92-year-old told reporters that she would take the case to the International Court of Justice.
