Google Apologizes to South Korea for Mistranslation of Sex Slave as Prostitute

Google under fire for referring to wartime sex slave as ‘prostitute’

SEOUL, Jan. 8 (Yonhap) — U.S. tech giant Google Inc. came under fire Monday for describing a victim of Japan’s sexual slavery during World War II as a “prostitute” in its Korean-based search engine, which the firm claims was caused by an “error” in its algorithm.

Earlier Monday, Google’s search engine described the late Moon Ok-ju, an activist and victim of Japan’s enslavement of Korean women, as a “prostitute” on its Korean-language platform.

Comfort Woman Invited to Trump’s State Dinner in S. Korea Causes Japanese Outrage

In an official statement, Google said its search results may differ from actual facts and claimed that search results are produced automatically through its algorithm. The description was removed after the matter came to light.

The company said it will continue to make efforts to improve the quality of its search engine. The U.S. company, however, did not provide details on how its search algorithm led to the latest controversy.

Moon, who passed away in 1996, spent her life standing up for victims after being taken to China and Myanmar by Japanese forces during the war. Historians estimate that up to 200,000 women, mainly from Korea, were forced to work in frontline brothels for Japanese soldiers.

Moon’s detailed testimonies are considered to have played a great role in revealing the truth behind Japan’s enslavement of women.

A screen capture of Google Inc.'s Korean-language search engine on Jan. 8, 2018, which describes a victim of Japan's sexual slavery during World War II as a "prostitute" in Korean. (Yonhap)

A screen capture of Google Inc.’s Korean-language search engine on Jan. 8, 2018, which describes a victim of Japan’s sexual slavery during World War II as a “prostitute” in Korean. (Yonhap)

Sex Slavery/Comfort Woman Issue May Be Reopened Between Japan & South Korea

Photo: Japan was highly offended when a “Comfort Woman” was introduced to President Donald Trump at the South Korean State Banquet held for Trump in November, 2017. The appearance of “Comfort Woman” Lee Yong Soo prompted Japan to file a diplomatic protest against South Korea.

Comfort Woman Invited to Trump’s State Dinner in S. Korea Causes Japanese Outrage

South Korean ruling party chief calls for new agreement on Japan’s wartime sexual slavery

SEOUL, Dec. 29 (Yonhap) — The leader of the ruling Democratic Party on Friday called for a new agreement to settle the long-simmering dispute over Japan’s wartime sexual slavery in a way acceptable to the victims.

Choo Mi-ae made the remarks a day after President Moon Jae-in criticized the 2015 deal between Seoul and Tokyo as seriously flawed, as the negotiations failed to reflect the opinions of the victims and the citizens.

“We need a new agreement that can be accepted by the victims,” Choo said during a meeting with senior party officials. “An agreement that aims to cover up the truth rather than uncovering it cannot be an (acceptable) agreement.”
Choo Mi-ae, the leader of the ruling Democratic Party, speaks during a meeting with senior party officials at the National Assembly in Seoul on Dec. 29, 2017. (Yonhap)

Choo Mi-ae, the leader of the ruling Democratic Party, speaks during a meeting with senior party officials at the National Assembly in Seoul on Dec. 29, 2017. (Yonhap)

She then urged Japan not to respond “emotionally” to the recent review of the deal by the foreign ministry’s task force, which concluded parts of the deal were kept secret to apparently avoid criticism of Seoul’s concessions to Tokyo.

“Japan should refrain from emotionally responding and reflect on how it can resolve the issue in a way that serves its national interests,” she said. “I urge Japan to act in a way that befits Japan’s national prestige.”

Tensions flared anew between the two neighbors after Seoul re-examined the bilateral deal reached under the former Park Geun-hye administration to settle the issue involving Korean women who were forced by Japan to serve at front-line military brothels during World War II.

Moon, who took office in May, has said that the agreement is “emotionally” unacceptable to Korean citizens.

Under the deal announced on Dec. 28, 2015, they agreed to “finally and irreversibly” resolve the sex slavery issue, while Tokyo apologized for its colonial-era atrocities and agreed to contribute 1 billion yen (US$8.9 million) to a foundation dedicated to supporting the victims.

The deal, however, prompted strong criticism from victims and civic groups who claim that Japan’s apology was not sincere enough and that the government did not consult with them. Some call for renegotiating or even scrapping the deal.

Comfort Woman Invited to Trump’s State Dinner in S. Korea Causes Japanese Outrage

Today, multiple Japanese news outlets are reporting that South Korea’s invitation of “a former ‘comfort woman,’ who has spoken widely of her suffering from being forced into sex slavery by the Japanese during World War II, to a state banquet it hosted for U.S. President Donald Trump,” has prompted Japan to lodge a diplomatic protest to South Korea.

A “comfort woman” is defined as any woman forced into sex slavery to provide “comfort” at designated “comfort stations” to Japanese soldiers during World War II.

While the extent of the harm done by this practice is continually being revised to this day, most sources quote the number of women affected by this practice to be approximately 200,000, estimating that Korean women were the most victimized, followed by Chinese women, and then Japanese women, although other women living in Asian countries under Japanese control were victimized as well.

In 2015, Japan and South Korea reached a diplomatic agreement that Japan would apologize and provide reparations to South Korea totaling one billion dollars. As part of this agreement, South Korea would in turn discontinue criticism of Japan in the international community and would agree to the removal of a prominent statue.

The Kyodo Times reports, “The attendance of the 88-year-old Korean woman, Lee Yong Soo, at the banquet, which was later confirmed, may complicate South Korea’s ties with Japan and their joint efforts with the United States to rein in North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs.”