A human rights group has called on Japan to compensate the victims of the country's wartime sexual slavery - an issue at the center of a longstanding dispute between Seoul and Tokyo.
Our Kim Jae-hee has more.
The Korean branch of human rights organization Amnesty International said on Tuesday it has filed a legal submission to the Seoul Central District Court,... urging Japan to compensate the victims of wartime sexual slavery.
"Amnesty International Korea has been campaigning for the justice and reparation for the survivors of Japans military sexual slavery system. We urged that the survivors should be allowed to seek for justice in their national court."
Amnesty International Korea added that Japan has no rightful reason to refuse the lawsuit.
"Japanese government has been claiming that they are not bound to the national court of a foreign country. However, international legal order is very clear that the state immunity is not applicable in the case of gross violation of human rights and crimes against humanity. And this is most compelling example."
The Japanese government has long been refusing to accept the lawsuit, which was filed by victims of Japan's sexual slavery and their family members back in 2016.
Tokyo maintains its position that the issue was settled by a bilateral deal made by the two countries back in 2015,... during the Park Geun-hye administration.
Japan also claims that the so-called "comfort women" were not sexual slaves.
Japan's foreign ministry's annual report the 2019 Diplomatic Bluebook claims the expression "sex slaves" is misleading and therefore should not be used.
In response to the report, Seoul's Yonhap News Agency quoted on Tuesday a human rights Japanese lawyer, saying the Japanese government is spreading fake news.
Kim Jae-hee, Arirang News.