Opening speech

Opening speech

Chair of Board, The Korean Council for Justice and

Remembrance for the Issues of

Military Sexual Slavery by Japan

Lee Na-Young

(Sociology Professor, Chung-ang University)

August 14th marks the 30th anniversary of Japanese military sexual slavery victimsurvivor Kim Hak-soon’s public testimony. It is an honor to be able to hold an international

conference celebrating the day.

Kim Hak-soon's courageous testimony contributed to restoring the honor and dignity of the victims by informing the world of the historical truth and inspiring victims around the world to come forward. It also urged the international society to recognize wartime sexual violence as a universal women’s rights issue and inspired civic movements to resolve the issue. Through the transnational civic movement propelled by Kim Hak-soon’s public testimony, the international society has created new international human rights norms and rewritten global human rights history from the perspectives of women. 30 years from then, the Japanese government continues to avoid legal responsibility and systematically remove Statues of Peace. The expansion of historical denialism is also making it difficult to achieve a just resolution of the Japanese military sexual slavery issue. Given these circumstances, it is very important for us to discuss how to remember and record the testimonies of victims and spread and inherit their meanings today.

The international conference today has been organized to reflect on the legacy of Kim Hak-soon and discuss the meaning of victim-survivor activism, which has raised awareness of and fought for truth of the Japanese military sexual slavery issue. The four panels include not only international experts such as Professor Chung Chin-sung, Yang Ching-ja of Japan, reporter Uemura Takashi, Professor Kim Pu-ja, Professors Yang Hyun-ah and Kang Sung-

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hyun of Korea, Professors Alexis Dudden, Tomomi Yamaguchi, and Elizabeth Son of the U.S., but also young researchers who have joined us through the call for papers. These speakers will create a space for discussion beyond the walls of sex, ethnicity, generation, and language.

I thank all researchers who are here today for the conference. I also would like to extend special thanks to the Research Network on Japanese Military Sexual Slavery, Korean Association of Women’s Studies, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Kim Sanghee,

Chair of National Assembly Gender Equality and Family Committee Jung Chounsook, abnd National Assembly members Hong Ihkpyo, Lee Jaejung, Woo Wonshik, Kim Minki, Kim Woni, Min Hyungbae, Jang Hyeyoung and Han Junho who have co-planned and coorganized the conference with us.

Human rights activist and Japanese military “comfort women” victim-survivor Lee Yong-soo, UN special rapporteur Professor Theo Van Boven, Professor Gay McDougall of Fordham University, U.S., Professor Ustina Dolgopol of Flinders University, Australia and Professor Patricia Viseur Sellers of London School of Economics who had both been former

prosecutors of the Women’s International War Crimes Tribunal on Japan’s Military Sexual

Slavery, Indai Sajor, advisor at the Norwegian Refugee Council and former co-chair of the Women’s International War Crimes Tribunal on Japan’s Military Sexual Slavery, and Watanabe Mina of Japan's WAM (Women’s Active Museum on War and Peace) have sent

us video messages of solidarity even though they could not join us physically due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I also thank people who have played pivotal roles in the movement for resolution of the Japanese military sexual slavery issue.

I hope that this conference will enable us to share the meaning of Kim Hak-soon’s testimony and create meaningful discussions.

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