South Korea’s gender minister plans to visit a shelter this week for the Korean women who were forced into sexual slavery for Japan’s soldiers during World War II, ministry officials said Thursday.
On Friday, Kim Hee-jung will visit the shelter in western Seoul to comfort two of these women, Kim Bok-dong and Kil Won-ok, and deliver warm winter items, according to the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family.
Kim, 88, has lost her vision in one eye, while Kil, also 88, suffers from Parkinson’s disease. Another victim who used to live at the shelter has been hospitalized for dementia.
The ministry said it will expand financial support for the former sex slaves next year after the parliament passed an increased budget to this end for 2015.
Historians estimate that up to 200,000 Asian women, mostly Koreans, were forced into sexual servitude for Japan’s soldiers during World War II. Only 54 victims remain alive in South Korea, with their average age standing at 88.
The former sex slaves, commonly called “comfort women,” have been one of the most sensitive issues stemming from Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula. (Yonhap)
