SEOUL – A South Korean court upheld Japan’s state immunity to dismiss a lawsuit raised by a group of women who were forced to work in Japanese wartime brothels.
Judge Min Seong-cheol recognized Japan’s right to state immunity from overseas lawsuits, contradicting the January ruling that Japan could not assert immunity for “a crime against humanity.”
“If an exception on state immunity is acknowledged, a diplomatic clash would be inevitable during the process of forcing the ruling’s implementation,” the judge said on Wednesday, dismissing the latest case brought by the 20 “comfort women” victims and their relatives.(Reuters)
