Four men accused of mocking wartime sex slavery victims apologize

Four South Korean men apologized last Wednesday for mocking women who were forced into sexual slavery for Japanese soldiers during World War II.

By Kim Arin, the Korea Herald

Six surviving sex slavery victims said Thursday the men visited them at a shelter in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, kneeled and apologized.

(The House of Sharing)

The men, who are in their 20s and 30s, spat on a statue representing a wartime sex slave on July 3 in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, and spewed insults in Japanese. The memorial statue in shape of a young girl was erected in remembrance of the wartime crime.

The House of Sharing, a shelter for former sex slaves, reported the incident to the police on the women’s behalf. Police sent the case to prosecutors Monday.

The shelter said the complaint against the four would be withdrawn given “the sincerity of their apology.”