Korea may confer order on ex-Rep. Honda for work on sex slaves

Published : Mar 30, 2017 - 13:38 Updated : Mar 30, 2017 - 13:38

South Korea is considering conferring an order of merit on a former American congressman who fought for Korean victims of Japan's wartime sexual slavery, an official said Wednesday.

Mike Honda, who served in Congress from 2001 to early this year, was at the forefront of efforts to get Japan to admit to its past wrongdoing and apologize to women who were forced to work in front-line Japanese brothels during World War II. Korea was a colony of Japan from 1910 to 1945.

Mike Honda (Yonhap)

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has begun collecting opinions on conferring a Distinguished Order of Diplomatic Service on Honda, the official said.

"(Honda) worked to raise awareness within the US Congress of the sex slavery issue as a member of the House of Representatives and contributed to developing South Korea-US ties," he said.

In 2007, the third-generation Japanese-American wrote House Resolution 121 and helped pass it through the House unanimously.

The resolution urged Japan to formally acknowledge, apologize for and accept historical responsibility for the atrocity in a clear and unequivocal manner. (Yonhap)