Opposition parties slammed the Japanese government in unison on Monday for once again denying the forced mobilization of sex slaves during World War II in a formal U.N. document.

The Minjoo Party released a statement on Monday that said, “We cannot withhold our rage against the Japanese government’s brazen act that completely denies and overturns the agreement made just a month earlier.”
 
Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo, who is spearheading the launch of a new opposition party, also lambasted the latest move and said that the Dec. 28 deal between Seoul and Japan on the WWII sex slavery issue must be annulled.

“It is not a deal that is ‘final and irreversible’,” Ahn said, referring to the two government’s phrasing of the agreement.

“While (Japanese Prime Minister) Abe and the government is continuing to release ludicrous statements, President Park Geun-hye is not saying anything back …Whose president is she, turning her back against the people’s pain. It is an embarrassing international humiliation,” Ahn said.

Groups that represent the surviving victims of sex slavery have been opposing the agreement, which they say lacks prior consultation. Students and civic groups have been staging daily and weekly rallies against the deal, which states that Japan will contribute 1 billion yen ($8.3 million) to a fund that will be created by Seoul.

(khnews@heraldcorp.com)