The conclusions threaten the 2015 agreement over so-called comfort women, forced to work in brothels for the Japanese military from the 1930s until 1945.
SEOUL, South Korea — A South Korean government-appointed panel faulted on Wednesday a “final and irreversible” deal struck with Japan in 2015 to resolve a decades-old dispute over Korean women who were forced into sexual slavery during World War II.
The panel’s findings offer President Moon Jae-in a potential opportunity to change or even scrap the agreement reached between Japan and his predecessor as president, Park Geun-hye.
At a news conference on Wednesday, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said her ministry “humbly” accepted the panel’s conclusion that the government had failed to represent the victims’ demands when negotiating the deal.
“As foreign minister, I bow my head deeply, expressing regrets for causing pains for the victims and their families, their advocacy groups and the people in general,” Ms. Kang said.
Though the 2015 agreement was applauded by the United States, it was widely criticized in South Korea.
In the deal, which both governments at the time called a “final and irreversible” settlement on the issue, Japan expressed responsibility and made a new apology to the victims, promising an $8.3 million fund to help provide old-age care. In return, South Korea promised not to criticize Tokyo on the issue again.
But some of the women complained that the deal ignored their demands that Japan take “legal” responsibility and provide official reparations.
Ms. Kang said the government would consult again with the women and their families, and consider the ramifications of changing or scrapping the deal for relations with Japan, before making a final decision.
In Tokyo, Foreign Minister Taro Kono warned that any attempt to revise the agreement would be “unacceptable” and would make the relationship between Japan and South Korea “unmanageable.”
“The Japan-South Korea agreement is an agreement between the two governments and one that has been highly appreciated by international society,” Mr. Kono said on Wednesday. Both countries are crucial allies of the United States.
