Seoul court rejects sexual slavery claim against Tokyo

SEOUL, South Korea — A South Korean court on Wednesday rejected a claim by victims of Japanese wartime sexual slavery and their relatives who sought compensation from Japan’s government.

The Seoul Central District Court based its decision on diplomatic considerations and principles of international law that grant countries immunity from the jurisdiction of foreign courts.

This appeared to align with the position maintained by Tokyo, which boycotted the court proceedings and insists all wartime compensation issues were settled under a 1965 treaty normalizing relations between the two nations.

Activists representing sexual slavery victims denounced the decision and said the Seoul Central District Court was ignoring their struggle to restore the women’s honor and dignity. They said in a statement that the plaintiffs would appeal.

It wasn’t immediately clear how the ruling would affect relations between the estranged U.S. allies. Their feud escalated in public for years over issues stemming from Japan’s brutal occupation of Korea through end of World War II, before receiving pressure from the Biden administration to mend ties and coordinate action in the face of threats from China and North Korea.

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Katunobu Kato noted the decision conflicted with a previous ruling in a separate case that found the Japanese government responsible for compensating sexual slavery victims.

Kato said he wouldn’t comment on the new ruling before examining the details more closely, but added that Tokyo’s stance on the sexual slavery issue remains unchanged. He said the previous ruling violated international law and was unacceptable.

“Japan continues to strongly ask South Korea to take appropriate steps in order to correct the state of international violation,” he said.

The 20 plaintiffs, who sued the Japanese government in 2016, include four women who were forced to work at Japanese military brothels during World War II and relatives of other women who have since died.

The court said international law and previous rulings from South Korea’s Supreme Court make it clear that foreign governments should be immune from civil damage suits in respect of their sovereignty.

“If we go against the (principles) of current customary international law regarding the immunity of states and deny immunity for the defendant, a diplomatic clash with the defendant will become unavoidable following the verdict and the process to forcibly execute it,” the court said.