Twenty-nine South Korean women forced into sex servitude for Japan's World War II soldiers will receive compensation money from the Japanese government starting next week, a non-profit foundation here said Friday.

They are the first batch of a group of the 46 victims who were confirmed alive as of Dec. 28 when South Korea and Japan forged a landmark deal to end deep-rooted diplomatic feuds over the issue.

Under the deal, the Japanese government injected 1 billion yen ($9.61 million) into the South Korean foundation dedicated to supporting the surviving victims last month.

Of the 29 consenters, 24 expressed their intent directly or indirectly through their guardians. Consent for five victims who passed away after the deal came from their bereaved families, according to the foundation.

The foundation said after a board meeting that it will start distributing the compensation money to them starting next week after reviewing application documents and other formal documents.

Interviews with the remaining 17 victims have not been scheduled yet for various reasons, with some rejecting a visit from the foundation.

It earlier decided to distribute 100 million won each in cash to the 46 victims who survived as of Dec. 28 and 20 million won to the bereaved families of the 199 victims who died before the date.

"The foundation is open to meet with all victims and their families to discuss (ways to heal their wartime wounds,)" said Kim Tae-hyun, head of the foundation. (Yonhap)