SEOUL: A 2015 agreement with Japan over South Korean women who were forced to work in Japan’s wartime military brothels failed to meet the needs of victims, South Korea’s foreign minister said on Wednesday.
Kang Kyung-wha apologised for the controversial deal as a public-private panel appointed by her unveiled results of an investigation into it.
The investigation concluded that the dispute over the “comfort women”, a Japanese euphemism for the women forced to work in wartime brothels, could not be “fundamentally resolved” because the victims’ demand for Japan’s legal compensation had not been met.
The South Korean government will review the result of the investigation and translate it into policy after consulting victims and civic groups that support them, Kang told a news conference.