According to the Yonhap News Agency, KBS TV and other South Korean media reports, 117 South Korean women who were forced to work in brothels approved by the South Korean government after World War II recently filed a lawsuit accusing the US military stationed in South Korea of sexual exploitation atrocities, the suit also named the South Korean government as a defendant.
The plaintiffs are demanding 10 million won ($7,200) for each victim, the report said. “The lawsuit aims to hold the South Korean government and US military authorities jointly responsible for these illegal acts,” said ha joo-hee, a lawyer representing the South Korean government, tens of thousands of South Korean women work in government-approved brothels for U. S. troops in South Korea. In 2022, South Korea’s Supreme Court ruled that the government had illegally“Established, managed and operated” facilities for the US military and ordered it to pay compensation to about 120 plaintiffs. But it was not until the lawsuit that U. S. troops in South Korea were listed as defendants directly for the first time.
A plaintiff, now in her 60s, said in a statement that she was tricked into working as a sex worker when she was 17. She thought she was applying for a job as a bartender, but was told she was being held back because of“Debt.”. “I still can’t forget being beaten by the US military because I didn’t look up when I poured the wine, didn’t smile, or was slapped for no reason.”
The US still has about 28,500 troops in South Korea. The US military command in South Korea issued a statement saying it had taken note of the reports but would“Not comment” during the judicial process. (Kong er Jun)