SEOUL--Kim Kyung-soon was finally expecting a sense of closure on the life-altering experience she suffered in her youth. But an official end to her long ordeal did not arrive in time.
The 89-year-old former “comfort woman” died at a hospital here on Feb. 20.
Time is quickly running out for Japan and South Korea to make good on their agreement reached in late December for a “final and irreversible resolution” of the issue of women who were forced to provide sex to Japanese military personnel before and during World War II.
In the two months since that agreement was reached, Kim and another former comfort woman, as they have been euphemistically called, have died. Now, only 44 former comfort women remain. Their average age as of Feb. 20 was 89.4.
Under the December agreement, Japan promised to contribute 1 billion yen ($8.8 million) in budgetary outlays to a fund that will be set up by the South Korean government to support the former comfort women. Seoul is seeking to establish the fund as early as possible.
However, some former comfort women and their support groups continue to criticize and reject the bilateral agreement, largely because the comfort women were not asked for their opinions before the agreement was reached.
According to bereaved family members, Kim was happy the agreement was reached because she had long been concerned about the negative effects the comfort women issue had on bilateral relations.
“Since the decision was made by President Park Geun-hye and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, we will have to abide by it,” Kim had said.
Another former comfort woman living in the northern part of South Korea said her wartime experience had basically destroyed her life.
At the same time, she said about the December agreement: “Prime Minister Abe apologized. President Park accomplished something that male presidents failed to do. I am grateful.”
The fund under the agreement will pay for measures to restore the honor and dignity of the former comfort women. Some of the money is expected to go directly to them.
“If I receive the money, I want to send it to my children,” the woman living in northern South Korea said.
But opposition to the agreement remains strong in others.
On Feb. 27, former comfort women residing in the House of Sharing in Gwangju, Gyeonggi-do province, as well as bereaved family members repeated their objections.
“(The Japanese government) has to kneel down before the elderly women and apologize,” said Yi Ok-seon, 88, a former comfort woman.
Yu Hui-nam, 87, another of the 10 former comfort women who now live at the House of Sharing, said official compensation from Tokyo should have been included in the agreement.
“Although the South Korean and Japanese governments made efforts, I am not satisfied,” she said. “Our entire lives went down the drain. There is a need for compensation.”
Some family members said one reason for the dissatisfaction is the lack of an adequate explanation to the former comfort women before the December agreement was announced.
They also said the former comfort women likely were unimpressed by the contents of Abe’s apology that was included in a joint statement issued by the two governments
Still, some of them said they would accept the money if it is paid directly to them from the government fund.
“This issue cannot be resolved by individuals,” a family member of a former comfort woman said. “We have to abide by the government. It would be meaningless if the elderly women died off.”
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