Preparations for a foundation to support World War II South Korean sex slavery victims formally began Tuesday, but almost immediately prompted controversy with the preparatory committee chief saying Japan’s funds cannot be considered as compensation.

Kim Tae-hyun, the head of the newly launched preparatory committee, said at a news conference, “We agreed that the funds provided by Tokyo were to be used to restore the victims’ dignity and heal their emotional wounds.

“I think of it as chiyugeum (funds for healing) and I don’t think it’s appropriate to call it ‘compensation.’”

The honorary professor at Sungshin Women’s University had presided over the first meeting of the 11-member committee before meeting with the press.

Kim’s comments ran contrary to that of Seoul’s Foreign Ministry, which has been explaining that the 1 billion yen ($9 million) fund pledged by the Japanese government in the Dec. 28 Korea-Japan “comfort women” deal could be interpreted as Tokyo’s “de facto compensation,” as the deal also included an apology from Japan.

Many Korean victims and activists have protested the settlement, saying the victims had not been consulted and the deal did not clearly establish Tokyo’s legal responsibility for institutionalized wartime sex slavery. After the settlement, Tokyo also asked that the statue of a girl symbolizing victims be removed from outside the Japanese Embassy in Seoul.

Kim said during the conference that the funds “have nothing to do” with the issues surrounding the statue.

“I’ve also been to rallies by surviving victims that are being held every Wednesday in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul,” Kim said. “But I have to say those rallies are being held by nongovernmental organizations. The Korean government is not involved with the rallies or the statue. During the settlement, the Korean government agreed to speak to those NGOs, but that is not relevant to the funds for the foundation.”

By the end of the conference and after a brief talk with a government official, Kim said there could be “many ways to define” the funds provided by the Japanese government.

Many of the Korean slavery victims have already died of old age. There are only 42 registered survivors remaining in Korea and overseas.

The committee includes government officials, former diplomats, lawyers, journalist and experts.

It will be under the jurisdiction of the Gender Equality Ministry with active participation from the Foreign Ministry, organizers said.

The preparatory committee members are also expected to automatically join the foundation once it launches sometime in June.

The committee will for the time being continue to discuss future steps with the victims and their representative groups, Kim said.

By Claire Lee (dyc@heraldcorp.com)