The decision confirmed an earlier ruling that each of the women who worked in the brothels set up for U.S. soldiers should be compensated between 3 million won and 7 million won (about $2,092 to $4,881).
The verdict also confirmed the existence of the brothels set up in U.S. military camptown in Korea 65 years ago. Known locally as “gijichon,” camptowns imposed state violence against the female victims.
“I had been frustrated that the Supreme Court hadn’t made any ruling in the several years since we filed the lawsuit, but now that it has finally returned a verdict today in favor of us grandmothers, I can’t help but cry,” said 72-year-old plaintiff Kim Suk-ja.
The Camptown Women’s Human Rights Coalition, which supported the plaintiffs over the years, was created in 2012 to advocate for the victims of the state-managed camptown sex trade.
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