Session 4. Future Directions and Agenda for the Resolution of Japanese Military Sexual Slavery Issue
When the Women Victims and their Harm Entered the Realm of International Politics LEE Jae-im I PhD Student, Seoul National University
Introduction
Raising the Issue In 2021, two South Korean courts made contradicting rulings on lawsuits regarding the Japanese military “comfort women” victims. In the dismissed case of Kwak v. Japan (2016 Ga-Hap 580239), the court concluded that the 2015 Korea-Japan “Comfort Women” Agreement (hereinafter the 2015 “Comfort Women” Agreement) has already restored the victims’ rights and determined that it is impracticable for the victims to demand compensation from Japan, given the national prestige and norms of international law including state immunity.1 Such legal discourse suggests the need for an analysis of the nature of emerging legal discourses challenging the Japanese military “comfort women” movement, as the movement demands for the Japanese government’s acceptance of its legal responsibility in accordance with the development of international law on genderbased violence and sexual violence. In other words, such legal discourse invites the following questions: how does the counter-discourse against victims aim to entwine the “comfort women” victims’ rights and the relations between Korea and Japan, when the women victims are at the center of the discussion on resolving the issue through human rights and gender perspectives? And what premises on international politics, victims, and damages support such discourse? This paper focuses on the case of Confirmation of the
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Chinkin and Yoshida, on the other hand, pointed out that the implementation of state immunity should be considered from a gender and human rights perspectives given that cases involving state immunity have not involved gender-based violence and sexual violence, as well as the fact that applying state immunity on the “comfort women” issue may result in impunity on crimes against humanity, such as sexual slavery, rape, and human trafficking, which leads to intensified gender inequality (Chinkin & Yoshida).
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