South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Friday pledged to restore the honor and dignity of women who were forced into sexual slavery by Japan during World War II.
"I will work responsibly until the honor and dignity of each and every victim are fully restored," Lee said in a message read by his chief of staff, Kang Hoon-sik, at a ceremony commemorating the victims, according to Yonhap News Agency.
South Korea marks Aug. 14 as a memorial day for victims euphemistically known as "comfort women," commemorating the date in 1991 when survivor Kim Hak-sun became the first South Korean victim to publicly testify about her ordeal.
Historians estimate that up to 200,000 women, mostly from South Korea and other Asian countries, were forced into Japanese military brothels during the war. Korea was under Japanese colonial rule from 1910 to 1945.
Lee said preserving the painful history was necessary to prevent such atrocities from recurring and pledged to establish a foundation for women's human rights and peace, with South Korea playing a leading role in promoting those values across Asia.
