Moon vows continued efforts to resolve comfort women issue on memorial day

President Moon Jae-in gives a video message on "comfort women" in this photo provided by Cheong Wa Dae on Saturday. (Yonhap)

President Moon Jae-in vowed Saturday to strive to resolve the pending issue of wartime sexual slavery victims, saying that such efforts are the path to avoid "a repeat of the unfortunate past."

Moon made the remarks in a video message, as the country marks the national memorial day for "comfort women," a euphemism referring to sexual slavery victims who were forced to work at Japanese brothels during World War II.

"Resolving the comfort women issue is the way to not repeat the unfortunate past," Moon said. "We will make sure that the future of forgiveness and reconciliation blooms on the foundation of historical truth created through the testimonies of the elderly victims and the efforts of civil society and academia."

Moon expressed gratitude and respect to the victims.

"We were able to reflect the unforgettable history through the grandmothers. The grandmothers have changed history. I extend my deepest respect and gratitude for standing up for and proving the human dignity through many hardships and adversity they suffered before, during and after the war," Moon said.

"We will communicate and support so that the dignity of every one of them is restored as we firmly maintain the international community's principle of pursuing 'a resolution through the victims-oriented approach.'"

Moon also called for the younger generations of South Korea and Japan to deepen their understanding about the victims.

In 2017, South Korea designated Aug. 14 as a memorial day to commemorate the sexual slavery victims. The date marks the day in 1991 when Kim Hak-sun, a late sexual slavery victim, publicly testified for the first time about Japan operating an organized military brothel program during the war.

Aug. 14 is also the eve of Liberation Day, which marks the end of the 1910-45 Japanese colonization of the Korean Peninsula.

According to historians, up to 200,000 women, mostly Koreans, were coerced into sexual servitude in front-line Japanese brothels when the Korean Peninsula was a Japanese colony. There are 14 surviving victims in Korea. (Yonhap)