President Moon Jae-in greets two wheelchair-bound former "comfort women" at the entrance of his residence.[Yonhap News Photo]
SEOUL, Jan. 04 (Aju News) -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in hosted a special luncheon for former "comfort women" and apologized for a deal forged by Seoul and Tokyo in 2015 to end a prolonged diplomatic row over Japan's wartime sex slavery.
The apology came at a presidential lunch Thursday with eight old women sexually enslaved by Japan's imperial army during World War II, Moon's office said.
Moon said the 2015 deal ran counter to "the principle of truth and justice" and failed to reflect demands or wishes from the victims of Japan's wartime atrocities, according to a presidential spokesman.
"The previous agreement is not only against the principles of truth and justice but also it was wrong both in its content and procedures because the government pushed it unilaterally without listening to the opinions of the grandmothers," Moon was quoted as saying.
The president repeated his earlier stance that the 2015 deal was not enough to resolve the comfort women issue, but he said his administration cannot ignore it. "I cannot deny the fact that it was an official agreement between the two countries."
For decades, Seoul and Tokyo have been locked in a lingering row over comfort women, school textbooks and other emotional issues related to Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule over the Korean peninsula.
Historians estimate that up to 200,000 women were forced to work in front-line brothels for Japanese troops. Many South Koreans want Tokyo's sincere apology.
Under the 2015 deal, Japan agreed to donate one billion yen ($8.7 million) to a foundation dedicated to supporting comfort women. In return, Tokyo urged Seoul to tear down the "comfort woman" statues erected by civic groups. Moon has called for a review of the deal, insisting many Koreans do not endorse it.