The Dong Ward municipality in South Korea's largest port city of Busan agreed Friday to let a civic group install a statue symbolizing the victims of Japan's wartime sexual slavery in front of the ward's Japanese Consulate.
"We will not stop the civic group from installing the statue in front of the consulate if they wish to do so," Park Sam-seok, chief of the municipality, told a press conference.
The decision came two days after the group attempted to install the statute on the sidewalk in front of the back door of the consulate but was stopped due to opposition from ward officials and police. Citing that the statue's installation obstructed a road, the ward office had prevented the group from erecting it and seized it.
During the press conference, Park also offered an apology to citizens over the incident, saying, "I would like to give the citizens words of apology. This matter is something that a local government can handle."
Members of the group seek to install the 1-ton statue, similar to another set up in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, as part of their protest against a Seoul-Tokyo deal made in December last year. Under the landmark deal, Tokyo apologized for its colonial-era atrocities and agreed to provide 1 billion yen ($9.61 million) to a foundation aimed at supporting the victims, euphemistically called comfort women.
Earlier in the day, the municipality handed over the confiscated statue to the group.
Following the seizure, the ward office was swamped with calls and messages critical of the office, which shut down its website as sentiment against the move ran high. The office then apparently agreed to return the figure to the group as it had no legal grounds for the seizure.
The ward office's about-face is expected to cause diplomatic friction between South Korea and Japan. On Dec. 20, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga expressed opposition to the installation, saying it is "very regrettable, and the Japanese Consulate has sent the ward office an official document against it."
Later in the day, the ward office and the group will hold talks to agree on the location of the statue, mediated by the Busan city assembly. The civic group earlier planned to hold a ceremony at 9 p.m. Saturday in front of the consulate to unveil the statue.
South Korean victims, liberal civic groups and opposition parties have accused the South Korean government of striking the December 2015 deal hastily without obtaining Japan's acknowledgment of legal responsibility. They also said the agreement was reached without prior consultation with the victims. (Yonhap)
