The Schroeder and the couple also launched, “a treason decision” on the demolition of the Berlin Girl

On the 25th of last month (local time), rainwater condenses on the ‘Statue of the Girl of Peace’ installed in the German capital, Berlin. [연합뉴스]

Legal action begins to prevent demolition of Berlin’s “Peace Girl”. A local civic group is planning to file a request for a temporary injunction with the Berlin Administrative Court to stay the execution of the demolition order, and a petition against the demolition is underway.

The Peace Girl Statue, which commemorates the victims of Japanese comforting military women, was installed on the street late last month with the permission of the competent Mite Ward. On the 1st, immediately after the installation, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi personally raised the issue. In a video call with the German Foreign Minister Haicomas, he requested cooperation to remove the ‘Statue of the Girl of Peace’ in Berlin. Kato Katsunobu (加藤 勝 信) also announced on 29 last month that “the Japanese government will continue to work to demolish the statue of the girl.”

In response, Mite-gu’s office sent an official letter to Korea Verband on the 7th to remove the statue on the 14th. The reason for the demolition order was that “the installation of an inscription that was not announced in advance has created tension in relations between Germany and Japan. ” The Mite-gu bureau noted that the content of the inscription is directed at Japan from the Korean side’s perspective, and said that it refused to become a (political) instrument in public places.

The Korean Council, which led the installation of the girl’s statue, said there was no request for submission of inscriptions at the time of installation and that there was no problem with the inscriptions. The inscription contains an explanatory phrase that says that during World War II, Japanese troops forcibly took women in Asia and the Pacific as sex slaves, and to pay tribute to the courage of survivors to campaign to prevent a repeat of these war crimes. . It also included a phrase donated by the Justice Memory Association.

A source said: “Mitegu raised a problem with the inscription, and in this case, the request for the replacement of the inscription, not the removal of the statue, is judged first.” “Because it is an unreasonable administrative order from the administrative authority, the judicial authority requested a temporary court order. We see a great possibility of accepting this. ”

Meanwhile, a petition campaign against demolition began in Germany. According to the petition site (www.petitionen.com), 2,564 people signed by 11 am on the 12th. In Korea, a petition against demolition is ongoing on the Blue House national petition site.

On November 1, 2018, former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and Kim So-yeon, who visited the Solgeo Art Museum at the Gyeongju World Culture Exhibition Park in Gyeongju, Gyeongsang Province, are talking with painter Park Dae -sung and other officials. Reporter Kim Jeong-seok

Former German Prime Minister Gerhard Schröder and his wife also protested the order to remove the girl’s statue and sent a letter to German authorities on the 11th (local time) asking them to withdraw the decision. Kim So-yeon, the wife of former Prime Minister Schröder, told Facebook that she was requesting the withdrawal of the demolition order in a public letter addressed to Mayor Stefan von Dassell Mitte. “It is difficult to understand the decision of the ward. It was criticized as a rebellious decision to abandon the pain of the grandmothers of the so-called ‘comfort women’ who suffered as victims of cruel violence ”.

If the Korean Council’s request for an interim injunction filed with the Berlin Administrative Court is accepted, it will lead to an original claim. In this case, it is expected that a considerable time will pass before the final judgment of the court is rendered. The problem is that the installation period for the Berlin Girl’s Award is one year. To extend the term, you must pass a new exam. The statue can be left there for a considerable period due to legal disputes, but even if the administrative order is invalidated, there is no guarantee after that.

On the 25th of last month (local time), citizens are reading the written inscriptions about the ‘Peace of the Girl’, which was installed in the German capital, Berlin. [연합뉴스]

Convincing that the girl’s statue is a symbol of universal human rights issues to inform the international war against the harm of women is expected to be the key to determining whether it should be extended.

Reporter Baek Hee-yeon [email protected]