South Korean academic convicted of defaming ‘comfort women’

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Park Yu Ha, a professor at Sejong University in Seoul, speaks to reporters at the Seoul High Court on Oct. 27, 2017, after the court found her guilty of defaming former "comfort women" forced into wartime brothels for the Japanese military, in her book. Park said she will appeal to a higher court. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Published: 3:53pm, 27 Oct 2017Updated: 10:41pm, 27 Oct 2017

A South Korean professor who challenged the consensus view of Japan’s wartime sex slaves was convicted of defaming the victims on Friday, after a Seoul appeal court overturned an earlier acquittal.

Park Yu-ha, of Sejong University in the South Korean capital, was found guilty of defamation for questioning the popular narrative that all “comfort women” were dragged from their homes by Japanese soldiers during the second world war.

In her 2013 book The Comfort Women of the Empire , she suggested the reality was more complex, with some women volunteering – though without necessarily knowing what their eventual fate would be. Many were told that they would get factory jobs.

Park Yu-ha, a professor at Sejong University in Seoul, leaving Seoul High Court on October 27 after she was found guilty of defaming former ‘comfort women’ forced into wartime brothels for the Japanese military. Photo: Kyodo

The book also suggested some women forged emotional bonds with the soldiers they served, sparking an angry response from surviving victims.

The Seoul High Court on Friday overturned a verdict by a lower court in January, which acquitted Park on the premise that academic freedom was a basic right and her opinions were not a criminal issue.