Author of 'Comfort Women of the Empire', Professor Park Yu-ha, to Receive Criminal Compensation

Professor Park Yu-ha, an honorary professor at Sejong University, who faced defamation charges related to the victims of the Japanese military comfort women in her book 'Comfort Women of the Empire', was granted acquittal and will receive criminal compensation from the state.

According to the announcement published in the official gazette on the 3rd, the 10-1 Division of the Seoul High Court (Judges Lee Sang-ho, Lee Jae-sin, Jeong Hyun-gyeong) has decided to grant Professor Park 8.75 million won as compensation for her expenses.

8.75 million won in compensation

The criminal compensation system allows defendants who have been acquitted in criminal trials to claim compensation from the state for damages incurred during the trial process, including detention or execution of sentences.

Previously, in August 2013, Professor Park was indicted for defaming the victims by stating in her book 'Comfort Women of the Empire' that the comfort women engaged in 'prostitution' and that there was no fact of forced conscription by the Imperial Japan.

Changes in Court Rulings and Final Acquittal

In the first instance of this case, Professor Park was acquitted; however, in the second instance, the prosecution recognized defamation for 11 of the 35 expressions cited in the indictment for the mention of false information, imposing a fine of 10 million won.

The court judged that "by using definitive expressions in some parts of the book, readers may perceive that the victims voluntarily entered into comfort women roles and that the Japanese military and government did not perform forcible conscription," stating, "This is false information that differs from objective facts."

However, in October 2023, the Supreme Court ruled that the expressions in question should be seen as 'academic claims or opinions' and could not be viewed as 'stating facts that harm another's reputation,' sending the case back for retrial.

The Seoul High Court, which took over the retrial, ruled last April in accordance with the Supreme Court's ruling that "the expressions recognized as guilty in the previous second instance are academic claims or opinions," thus acquitting Professor Park.

The prosecution did not file a retrial against this, and the acquittal was finalized.

Meanwhile, in June 2014, nine comfort women victims from the 'House of Sharing' in Gyeonggi Province filed a damages lawsuit against Professor Park.

In the first instance, the court ordered Professor Park to compensate the plaintiffs a total of 90 million won, but in the second instance, the court ruled that Professor Park had no liability for compensation, resulting in a loss for the plaintiffs.

Image source: Professor Park Yu-ha, Sejong University / News1, News1, reference images for the understanding of the article / Photo: Insight