Overview

• The Cheongju District Court ruled that Japan must pay 200 million won ($139,000) to Lee Man-young, son of the late Gil Gap-soon, a former comfort woman.
• This is the third South Korean court decision since 2021 to hold Japan liable for compensating comfort women victims or their families.
• The court invoked the Hague Convention to override sovereign immunity, treating Japan as a legal entity subject to damages claims.
• The Japanese government rejected the ruling, calling it a violation of international law and summoning South Korea's ambassador in protest.
• Gil Gap-soon was forcibly taken to Nagasaki, Japan, in 1941 at age 17 and lived as a comfort woman until her death in 1998.