Deals of expediency will not bury the past

The Republic of Korea's President Moon Jae-in was simply telling the truth when he said on Thursday that the 2015 agreement between his country and Japan intended to settle once and for all the decades-long row over Korean women forced into wartime sexual slavery was seriously flawed, "both in process and content".

His remarks came after a state-appointed panel concluded the ROK's former government failed to properly communicate with the victims to get their consent on the deal and covered up the Japanese demands that Seoul avoid using the term "sexual slavery" - with Seoul agreeing to formally refer to the victims as "victims of Japanese military comfort stations" - and provide a specific plan to remove a bronze statue representing sex slaves in front of its embassy in Seoul.

That is why the deal, though called "final and irreversible", has never really resolved the highly emotional issue, which remains a thorn in bilateral relations, as proved by the continuation of weekly demonstrations in front of the Japanese embassy in Seoul.