A South Korean court on Thursday ordered Japan to compensate 16 women over wartime forced sexual slavery, overturning a lower-court ruling that had dismissed the case.
The 2021 ruling said the women were not entitled to compensation, citing "sovereign immunity" for Tokyo, and ruling that accepting the victims' claims could cause a diplomatic incident.
But the Seoul High Court ruled Thursday it was "reasonable to say sovereign immunity should not be respected... in case of illegal conduct", according to a court document seen by AFP.
It ordered that some 200 million won ($154,000) be paid to each of the complainants.
The court said the victims were "forcibly abducted or lured into the sexual enslavement".
It ruled that as a result they had suffered "damage" and "could not live a normal life post-war".
Lee Young-soo, a 95-year-old victim and one of the 16 plaintiffs, threw her arms high in joy as she exited a court building, telling reporters: "I am very thankful... I thank the victims who have passed away."
Mainstream historians say up to 200,000 women -- mostly from Korea, but also other parts of Asia including China -- were forced to become sex slaves, so-called comfort women, for Japanese soldiers during World War II.
The issue has long bedevilled bilateral ties between Seoul and Tokyo, which colonised the Korean peninsula between 1910 and 1945.
The ruling comes as the conservative South Korean government of President Yoon Suk Yeol has sought to bury the historical hatchet and improve ties with Tokyo to jointly confront growing military threats from North Korea.
The Japanese government denies it is directly responsible for the wartime abuses, maintaining that the victims were recruited by civilians and that military brothels were commercially operated.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Featured Video Of The Day
At Least 2 Passengers Die As Chandigarh-Dibrugarh Express Derails In UP
South Korea's Top Court Grants State Benefits To Gay Couples In Landmark Ruling North Korean Diplomat Defects From Cuba To South Korea: Report Study Abroad: Best Universities To Study In South Korea Barack Obama Wants Joe Biden To Pull Out Of US Presidential Race: Report World's Largest Isolated Tribe Makes Rare Appearance In New Footage Shooter Had Trump's Face Right In Middle Of Crosshairs, Shows New Video Comedy Legend Bob Newhart Dead At 94: Publicist Israeli Strike Kills Field Commander In Elite Hezbollah Unit: Report Delhi-San Francisco Air India Flight Diverted To Russia After Engine Glitch Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.