Another South Korean woman who was coerced into sexual slavery for Japanese soldiers during World War II has died, the government said Wednesday.
The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family said Park Sook-yi died the previous day at the age of 94. Park had been hospitalized for poor health in Namhae, 495 kilometers southeast of Seoul.
Her death leaves only 39 surviving victims of one of Japan's most serious wartime crimes when it colonized the Korean Peninsula from 1910-45. Initially, 238 women were on the list of government-registered former sex slaves.
Historians estimate that up to 200,000 women, mostly from Korea, were forced to work in front-line brothels for Japanese troops during World War II.
South Korea and Japan reached a landmark accord on Dec. 28, 2015, in which Tokyo expressed an apology for its colonial-era atrocities and provided 1 billion yen ($9.6 million) for a foundation aimed at supporting the surviving victims, euphemistically called comfort women. (Yonhap)
