South Korea to build museum for wartime sex slavery victims

Chung Hyun-back, the minister of gender equality and family who took office Friday, visited the House of Sharing for her first official activity, vowing to set up the museum to remember "comfort women" victims.

The term "comfort women" is a euphemism for women who were forced into sex enslavement for Japanese military brothels before and during the Pacific War.

The House of Sharing, located near capital Seoul, is a shelter for the South Korean "comfort women" victims.

Chung said her ministry planned to build the museum for "comfort women" victims in downtown Seoul for better accessibility in order to make it serve as a mecca remembering the human rights violation brought on by war.

The minister said the "comfort women" issue was no longer a matter between South Korea and Japan but became a global issue, noting that the museum establishment would be launched immediately for preparations to secure the plot of land.

Touching on the agreement on the "comfort women" victims, which was reached in late 2015 between South Korea and Japan, Chung said she was reviewing how to deal with the renegotiation issue on the agreement.

The two countries reached the "final and irreversible" agreement on "comfort women" on Dec 28, 2015 as Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe cabinet promised the Park Geun-hye government about US$9 million to build a foundation in Seoul for the wartime sexual slavery victims.

The South Korean victims demanded the repealing of the agreement, calling for Abe's sincere apology and the legal responsibility for the wartime crimes against humanity.