Amended comfort women protection law takes effect Thursday

Defamation and spread of false information about victims now punishable by law

Barricades surrounding the Statue of Peace in front of the former Japanese Embassy in Jongno-gu, Seoul, are removed on May 6. Police had erected the barriers in June 2020 amid concerns of damage during rallies by groups opposing the comfort women cause. They were taken down after nearly six years, timed to coincide with the 1,751st Wednesday Demonstration calling for resolution of the Japanese military sexual slavery issue. [Lim Se-jun]
Barricades surrounding the Statue of Peace in front of the former Japanese Embassy in Jongno-gu, Seoul, are removed on May 6. Police had erected the barriers in June 2020 amid concerns of damage during rallies by groups opposing the comfort women cause. They were taken down after nearly six years, timed to coincide with the 1,751st Wednesday Demonstration calling for resolution of the Japanese military sexual slavery issue. [Lim Se-jun]

By Kim Do-yoon, The Herald Business

"'Damage suffered by comfort women of the Japanese military' refers to harm inflicted on those who were forcibly mobilized by Imperial Japan, subjected to sexual abuse, and compelled to live as comfort women."

South Korea has now enshrined that legal definition in statute — and made it a criminal offense to spread false information that contradicts it.

The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family announced Wednesday that an amended version of the Act on the Protection and Support of Victims of the Japanese Military Comfort Women and Related Commemorative Projects, along with its implementing ordinances, takes effect Thursday.

Under the amended law, anyone who distorts the facts of comfort women victims' suffering or spreads false information with the intent to defame them faces up to five years in prison or a fine of up to 50 million won (about $32,900).

Previously, distorting the historical record could only be prosecuted under general defamation statutes, including defamation of the deceased. The revised law creates a separate, dedicated basis for punishment and raises the maximum fine to five times that allowed under the criminal code's existing false-statement defamation provision.

The prohibition covers statements made through newspapers, magazines, broadcasts and other publications, online networks, exhibitions, performances, screenings, public assemblies and lectures. Content produced for artistic, academic, research or journalistic purposes is exempt.

The ministry said it plans to conduct a survey of memorials and monuments erected in honor of comfort women victims — including the Statue of Peace — and establish a systematic framework for managing those commemorative spaces.

Some groups that have long campaigned for the repeal of the comfort women law, including the Citizens' Action to Abolish the Comfort Women Act, have drawn controversy by referring to victims as "fake comfort women," "prostitutes" and "professional women who signed contracts with brokers for money."

Civic organizations working to resolve the issue of Japanese military sexual slavery, including the Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance, have consistently argued that insults and hate directed at the victims must not be tolerated in Korean society.

Minister of Gender Equality and Family Won Min-kyung said she hopes the law's enactment will "provide stronger protection for the honor and dignity of the victims, and help spread accurate remembrance and education throughout our society."


kido@heraldcorp.com