A comfort woman statue in Berlin (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
BERLIN, Sept. 29 (Korea Bizwire) — With just a week left before a deadline to dismantle a comfort woman statue in Berlin, a Korean civic group has filed an injunction against the local district office, seeking to preserve the memorial that has become a focal point of historical and diplomatic tensions.
The Korea Verband, a civic association based in Germany, said Sunday it has petitioned the Berlin Administrative Court to suspend an order by the Mitte district office requiring the statue’s removal by October 7. The group argued that the district’s two-year limit on public art installations was arbitrary and applied inconsistently, and that freedom of art and equal opportunity must be balanced in individual cases.
Installed in 2020, the statue symbolizes victims of wartime sexual slavery by the Japanese military. It has survived previous removal orders after injunctions were granted in 2020 and again last year.
Mitte officials have maintained that the statue exceeds its permitted installation period and, in court, have also contended that it interferes with Japan’s diplomatic interests. But in April, the court rejected that argument, ruling that diplomatic considerations cannot outweigh artistic freedom unless there is a direct, measurable impact.
The district has also urged moving the statue to private land. In July, a local tenants’ cooperative said it would provide space free of charge, but both the Korea Verband and the cooperative later denied reaching any such agreement.
The group insists the statue’s visibility in a public space is essential for its purpose, which includes hosting educational programs on sexual violence and human rights. “The statue’s concrete impact lies in its accessibility in public space,” the court said in its earlier ruling, rejecting relocation as an equivalent alternative.
Mitte has warned that failure to comply by the October 7 deadline will result in a €3,000 ($3,200) fine. In response, the Korea Verband has also lodged a formal objection with the district and launched a petition and rallies urging the statue’s preservation.
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
