On September 29, 2022, the South Korean Supreme Court ruled that the Korean government is responsible for the harm suffered by sex workers at comfort stations (brothels) in United States military camp towns (commercial and entertainment areas near military bases) from 1957 to 2008. It awarded the victims psychological damages of 3 million to 7 million Korean won (about US$2,150 to $5,000). (2018 Da No. 224408, Sup. Ct., Sept. 29, 2022 (in Korean); Korean Summary.)
Background to the Case
The plaintiffs are women who engaged in prostitution for U.S. soldiers in camp towns around U.S. military bases located in various regions of Korea.
Beginning in the 1950s, the Korean government was involved in the formation and operation of military camp towns. The government designated brothels as comfort facilities for the U.S. military, gathered comfort women (prostitutes), and systematically tested and treated sexually transmitted diseases for them. Korean civil servants conducted educational activities, such as teaching English conversation to women in camp towns, and promised them benefits, such as old age security, while referring to them as patriots as they earned dollars and boosted the morale of the military.
On June 25, 2014, 122 women who had worked as sex workers from 1957 to 2008 in the camp towns filed a lawsuit claiming that the state had violated its duty to protect its people by mediating, aiding, and abetting an illegal sex trade.
The Court’s Findings
The Supreme Court ruled that the government had infringed the plaintiffs’ human rights and dignity and was liable for compensation under the State Compensation Act (Act No. 231, Sept. 8, 1951, amended by Act No. 14964, Oct. 31, 2017, art. 2). It also stated that, in operating and managing comfort stations in the camp towns, the government had violated the then-in-force laws to prohibit prostitution (Prevention of Prostitution Act, Act No. 771, Nov. 9, 1961 (replaced by the Act on the Prevention of Commercial Sex Acts and Protection of Victims, Act No. 7212, Sept. 23, 2004, wholly amended by Act No. 12550, Mar. 27, 2014)).
In addition, the court found that during the period of 1958 to August 19, 1977, some plaintiffs whom the government had confined in quarantine and treated with penicillin without any legal grounds had suffered mental damage.
Sayuri Umeda, Senior Foreign Law Specialist
Law Library of Congress, January 12, 2023
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