Ex-"comfort women" appeal South Korea court's dismissal of case
A group of former "comfort women" in South Korea appealed Thursday a local court ruling that dismissed their damages lawsuit against the Japanese government over their treatment at Japanese military brothels during World War II, their lawyers said.
In dismissing the suit, the April 21 ruling at the Seoul Central District Court applied sovereign immunity to the case -- a concept under international law that a state is immune from the jurisdiction of a court in a foreign country -- and determined South Korea has no jurisdiction over the case.
The lawyers said in a statement released Thursday that the plaintiffs made the appeal as the ruling blocked their right to pursue compensation over Japan's inhumane wrongdoings.