STATUE OF PEACE IN WASHINGTON DC

[Anchor Lead]

A plan to set up a Statue of Peace in Washington DC has been in the pipeline for nearly three years now. During that time, the statue commemorating the victims of wartime sex slavery has been stored in a warehouse, due to persistent protest from the Japanese government. But now that Statue of Peace has come outside in time for Korea's Independence Day.

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[Soundbite] "Apologize to comfort women!"

A truck carrying a Statue of Peace stops in front of the Japanese Embassy. The girl in the statue is looking straight at the embassy. On August 15th, civic activists and protesters, who gathered to mark Korea's Independence Day, called on the Japanese government to admit to its war crimes and apologize to the victims of military sex slavery.

[Soundbite] "Japan must apologize! Apologize!"

It was in November 2016 when this Statue of Peace first arrived in Washington DC. Identical to the statue placed in front of the Japanese Embassy in Korea, this one was supposed to be erected at a college in Maryland. But that plan was scrapped due to the Japanese government's protest, leaving the statue with no permanent display location. It has been locked away in a warehouse near Washington DC for 32 months before being brought out for this year's Liberation Day. In this event named "an outing with the Statue of Peace" citizens took photos with the statue and recalled its significance.

[Soundbite] LEE JUNG-SIL(WASHINGTON COALITION FOR COMFORT WOMEN ISSUES, ETC.) : "It breaks my heart to see the statue locked away. So it was brought out today to reaffirm people's resolve to put it up again."

The statue was then taken to the old Korean legation in Washington and a church in Virginia to refresh people's interest in the victims of Japan's wartime atrocities. To date, four Statues of Peace have been placed in the United States, including Los Angeles and Southfield, Michigan. But this one in Washington DC has to go back to storage once its short outing is over.