Participants of a rally dedicated to remembering victims of Japan's wartime sexual slavery cheer as they mark the removal of a police barricade surrounding a statue symbolizing the victims in central Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap
Barricades surrounding an iconic statue of a girl representing victims of Japan's wartime sexual slavery were permanently lifted Wednesday, six years after they were placed due to security concerns.
Cheers erupted as participants of a weekly rally remembering the victims pushed the police fences from the "Statue of Peace" near the former site of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul. The police barricades were placed in June 2020 at a civic group's request.
The site had become a flashpoint in recent years as far-right groups denying the Japanese military's sexual enslavement of women during World War II held counter-rallies nearby, raising concerns of possible damage to the statue.
But the arrest of a leader of the rallies in March on charges of defaming the victims had paved the way for discussions to remove the barricades. Police temporarily lifted them last month before Wednesday's permanent removal.
"Just as the girl statue's barricades opened today, (we) will tear down the walls that block the steps toward justice and peace," participants of the weekly rally said in a statement.
As the barricades were removed, the rally participants chanted, "Japan must apologize," and "peace has won." A purple wreath symbolizing peace was laid on top of the statue's head.
With the removal, the statue will undergo repairs this week, including being repainted to cover scratches.
Historians estimate that up to 200,000 women, mostly from Korea, were forced to work in front-line brothels for Japanese soldiers during World War II. Korea was a Japanese colony from 1910-45.
Source: Korea Times News
