09/02/2025
Behind the Summit’s Achievements, ‘Comfort Women’ Victims Once Again Abandoned
Phyllis Kim
Executive Director, CARE (Comfort Women Action for Redress and Education, USA
https://www.pressian.com/pages/articles/2025090114562905603
Following a series of Korea-Japan and Korea-U.S. summits, public opinion has generally been one of relief. Some even praised President Lee Jae-myung’s decision to meet with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba before meeting U.S. President Donald Trump as a “brilliant move.” Yet in the process, the voices of the “comfort women” victims—who for more than thirty years have demanded genuine apology and repentance from Japan—were once again cast aside. Under the pretext of political expediency and the improvement of Korea-Japan relations, the victims were reduced to sacrificial offerings.
On the eve of the summit, President Lee declared in an interview with Yomiuri Shimbun, a far-right Japanese media outlet, that he “would not overturn past agreements.” This was in stark contrast to his days in the opposition, when he strongly criticized the 2015 Korea-Japan agreement. At the summit, he further conceded to Japan’s demands, agreeing that “historical issues would be handled on the basis of the 1965 Korea-Japan Treaty on Basic Relations.” In the subsequent Korea-U.S. summit, he even responded positively to President Trump’s distorted remarks (that South Korea is to blame for the strained relations with Japan because 'Japan wants to move on, but Korea was stuck on the "comfort women" issue'). This was not a simple diplomatic concession; it was a historic catastrophe that undermined the victims’ decades-long struggle and the standards of justice set by the international community.
The sense of betrayal is all the greater because expectations had been high. A president who was elected by the “power of the plaza (the citizen's taking the street)” and once inspired hope by standing with the socially marginalized has, on the comfort women issue, retreated further than any previous administration. Even those who generally welcomed the outcomes of the summits have expressed concern that “he went too far.” In truth, the roots of this regression reach far back. The international standards laid out decades ago by UN Special Rapporteur Radhika Coomaraswamy—acknowledgment of state crimes, official apology, legal reparations, punishment of perpetrators, truth-finding, and education—have always been clear. Yet the Korean government has never once pursued them.
Nevertheless, the comfort women issue will never disappear. Japanese military documents and victims’ testimonies remain as undeniable evidence of the crimes, and the international community, including the United Nations, has repeatedly urged the Japanese government to issue an official apology and resolve the matter. This history continues to be taught in the United States and Europe. Whatever political bargains may be struck, what disappears is only the trust in political leaders. What remains is the historical truth.
This crisis has left us with a clear lesson. When it comes to the comfort women issue, the Korean government no longer has the legitimacy to represent the victims. It has become evident that we cannot entrust the resolution of state-led human rights violations solely to governments. We must start again from the beginning: remembering the victims’ voices, standing on international standards, and demanding justice in solidarity with global citizens. At the same time, Korea must go beyond its role as a victim nation and confront its own responsibility for atrocities committed by Korean troops during the Vietnam War. Only when the Korean government issues an official apology and pursues resolution for these victims can the Republic of Korea leave behind a history that will not shame future generations.
연이은 한일·한미 정상회담이 끝났다. 여론은 대체로 안도하는 분위기다. 이재명 대통령이 미국 도널드 트럼프 대통령을 만나기에 앞서 일본 이시바 시게루 총리를 찾은 것이 "신의...
