Former Sex Slave Honored in California

Published on 2016/03/27 | Source

Lee Yong-soo

The California State Senate on Thursday gave a special award to Lee Yong-soo, who was sexually enslaved by the Japanese army in World War II.

Acting Senate head Kevin de Leon praised Lee for "her lifelong dedication to justice for all men, women and children who still suffer under slavery conditions".

As she received the award, Lee (88) repeated her criticism of the agreement between Korea and Japan in December of last year to compensate the former sex slaves.

Lee said the agreement is a "backdoor deal" and urged Japan to accept its responsibility.

Lee has been in the U.S. since Mar 7 to tell the American public about the atrocity. She urged the California Senate to build a statue honoring the former sex slaves and to spread awareness of Japan's wartime atrocities.