韓国慰安婦財団 合意履行へ国民の理解求めよ

The Yomiuri Shimbun
ROK must expand people’s support to implement ‘comfort women’ deal
韓国慰安婦財団　合意履行へ国民の理解求めよ

It can be said that a first step has been taken for implementation of a deal reached by the Japanese and South Korean governments in late December on the so-called comfort women issue. We want to see how the administration of President Park Geun-hye will follow through.
　慰安婦問題を巡る昨年末の日韓合意の履行に向けて、一歩前進したと言えよう。朴槿恵政権の取り組みを見守りたい。

A preparatory committee has been established in South Korea to set up a foundation to support former comfort women based on the bilateral accord.
　元慰安婦を合意に基づいて支援する財団の設立準備委員会が韓国で発足した。

The Japanese government will provide ¥1 billion for the foundation to be established by the South Korean government. The purpose of the foundation is said to be “to restore the honor and dignity of former comfort women and heal their emotional wounds.” The foundation will be required to embody the aims of the bilateral deal.
　韓国政府が設立する財団に、日本政府が１０億円を拠出する。「元慰安婦の名誉と尊厳の回復、心の傷の癒やし」が事業目的とされる。その合意の趣旨を体現した財団となることが求められる。

Chaired by Kim Tae Hyeon, an honorary professor at Sungshin Women’s University and an expert on women’s issues, the committee consists of 11 members, including former Foreign Minister Yu Myung Hwan and a scholar on Japanese affairs. The panel will compile assistance programs for the former comfort women, and the foundation is scheduled to be set up as early as this month.
　準備委は、女性問題専門家の金兌玄・誠信女子大名誉教授が委員長を務め、柳明桓元外相、日本研究者ら計１１人で構成される。元慰安婦支援の計画をまとめ、今月中にも財団が設立される運びだ。

During a recent news conference, Kim stressed a policy of respecting the intentions of former comfort women in carrying out assistance programs, saying, “We’d like to become sympathetic from our hearts to the pains of the victims [former comfort women] and meet their requests.”
　金委員長は記者会見で、「被害者（元慰安婦）の痛みに心から共感し、応えたい」と述べた。元慰安婦の意向を尊重して活動を進める方針を強調している。

It took more than five months before the preparatory committee was established. Behind the delay could be the Park administration’s wish to avoid having the comfort women issue become a point of contention in the general election that was held in April and evade the possibility of a barrage of criticism by opposition parties.
　準備委発足までに５か月以上かかった。４月の総選挙で慰安婦問題が争点となり、野党から攻撃されるのを避けたいとの判断が、朴政権にあったためだろう。

Given the stunning election defeat of her ruling party, the pressure on her administration’s governance has been mounting.
　総選挙で与党が大敗したことから、朴大統領の政権運営への圧力が高まっている。

No more time for delay

The Minjoo Party of Korea, a leftist opposition group that is now the biggest force in the National Assembly, has denounced the Japan-South Korea deal on the comfort women issue as making no mention of Japan’s legal responsibility and has called for holding negotiations again on the matter. A South Korean group assisting the former comfort women has been strongly opposing the inauguration of the preparatory committee.
　第１党となった左派野党「共に民主党」は日韓合意について、日本の法的責任の認定がない点などを批判し、再交渉を主張する。元慰安婦の支援団体も、準備委発足に強く反発している。

Of concern is that the South Korean people’s understanding of the bilateral accord on the comfort women issue is not sufficient. According to a joint public opinion survey conducted by The Yomiuri Shimbun and The Hankook Ilbo, 73 percent of South Korean respondents did not support the comfort women deal.
　気がかりなのは、国民の理解が十分に得られていない状況だ。読売新聞と韓国日報の共同世論調査では、合意を「評価しない」とする人が韓国で７３％に上った。

The deal was worked out as a result of mutual concessions by Tokyo and Seoul. True, it triggered a chance for the two countries to restore strained bilateral relations. The Park administration has reportedly received an increasing amount of affirmative responses to the deal in interviews with the former comfort women.
　合意は日韓双方が歩み寄った成果であり、停滞していた日韓関係を改善する契機となったのは間違いない。朴政権が元慰安婦との面談を進める中で、合意に肯定的な反応が増えているという。

Forty-six former comfort women remained alive when the deal was hammered out last December. But four of them have since died. Delay in assistance programs can no longer be allowed.
　存命している元慰安婦は合意時に４６人だったが、その後、４人が亡くなった。支援事業のこれ以上の遅滞は許されまい。

It is essential for the Park administration to tenaciously seek to obtain the people’s understanding of its accord with Tokyo on the comfort women issue and strive to enable the foundation to function smoothly.
　朴政権は合意の意義について、粘り強く国民に理解を求め、財団が円滑に活動できるよう努めることが欠かせない。

As for a Japanese request for the removal of a statue of a girl installed in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, the South Korean government has pledged “to work toward resolving the matter appropriately.”
　日本側が撤去を求めるソウルの日本大使館前の少女像について、韓国側は「適切に解決されるよう努力する」と約束している。

It should not be forgotten that the matter is gravely related to securing the peace and safety as well as the dignity of the embassy. South Korean organizations, including one that installed the statue, object to its removal, but it is also important for the South Korean government to induce them to remove the statue in line with progress in implementation of what has been agreed upon in the deal.
　大使館の安寧や威厳の維持に関わる重大な問題であるのを忘れてはならない。少女像を設置した団体などは撤去に反対するが、朴政権は合意履行の進展に伴い、撤去へ誘導していくことも大切だ。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, June 7, 2016)