Seoul-Tokyo WWII sex slaves’ information will not be disclosed, top court rules
- In 2015, the two countries signed a controversial deal on the sexual enslavement of South Korean women by imperial Japan during World War II
- The ruling is viewed as favouring President Yoon Suk Yeol, who has been striving to improve relations with Japan that were strained under Moon Jae-in
The Seoul Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs took appropriate measures by refusing to disclose the minutes of a controversial Korea-Japan deal on former sex slaves signed in 2015, upholding a decision by an appellate court.
The latest ruling is viewed by many as favouring President Yoon Suk Yeol, who has been striving to improve the country’s relations with Japan that were strained during the previous Moon Jae-in government due to disputes over historical issues, including recognising and compensating former sex slaves.
“The lower court handed down the right ruling and did not misunderstand legal principles regarding information subject to disclosure under the Public Information Act,” the top court said in its ruling.
On December 28 of 2015, the government signed a controversial deal with Tokyo on the sexual enslavement of Korean women by imperial Japan during World War II.
The accord said the two countries would resolve the dispute over the sex slaves in a “final and irreversible” manner. But the deal only complicated the historical row, being criticised by many groups, including Korean victims of Japan’s wartime sex slavery, for being hastily signed without reflecting the opinions of victims, while Japan has insisted that Korea should adhere to the agreement.
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An official at the top court explained that the government’s deal with Japan was the result of the foreign ministry’s negotiations with the Japanese government.
“The top court upheld the lower court ruling that the benefits from not disclosing the contents of diplomatic negotiations, which were carried out behind closed doors, outweighed the benefits of disclosing them,” the official said.
“The latest ruling reconfirmed the court’s cautious attitude towards the disclosure of information regarding diplomatic negotiations,” the official added.
In February of 2016, Song Ki-ho, a lawyer with the local civic group, Lawyers for a Democratic Society, also known as Minbyun, filed a lawsuit against the foreign minister, calling for the disclosure of the minutes of the two governments’ negotiations regarding Japan’s forced mobilisation of Korean women as sex slaves during the war.
A District Court ruled in favour of the lawyer, saying that protecting national interests through the nondisclosure of the minutes did not outweigh the public’s interest that the people could gain by fulfilling their right to know.
But an appellate court overturned the ruling, saying that the revelation of information related to Japan’s position without its consent would deal a serious blow to bilateral diplomatic relations.
“The sex slaves issue has been a very sensitive topic between the two nations. If even a part of the negotiations is disclosed, the whole point of the agreement could be distorted,” the appellate court said at the time.
The Supreme Court agreed with that view.
Following the final ruling, Song claimed that the top court neglected the judiciary’s duty of guaranteeing the human rights of victims.
“If the judiciary keeps taking a passive attitude simply because it was a diplomatic issue, the country’s diplomatic affairs will stray from the rule of law, the people’s rights to know and the principle of transparency,” he said.
The top court ruling is likely to help Yoon’s conciliatory gesture toward Japan as he seeks to improve soured relations with the neighbouring country.
In March, the Yoon administration offered to resolve the Seoul-Tokyo row over wartime forced labour by compensating the Korean victims without asking for contributions from responsible Japanese firms, despite fierce opposition from the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea and civic groups. Bilateral relations have significantly warmed since then.
