S. Korean civic groups stage rally against Abe's visit

SEOUL - South Korean civic groups staged a rally on Friday against Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit to Seoul over the weekend to participate in summits with South Korean President Park Geun-hye.

Abe is scheduled to arrive in Seoul on Sunday to attend the first trilateral summit in more than three years between China, South Korea and Japan. He is also set to hold the first one-on-one meeting with President Park on Monday.

Members of 76 civic, social and religious groups gathered in front of the Japanese embassy in Seoul, holding a press conference to express their "strong" opposition to Abe's visit and his summit with Park.

The advocate groups urged Abe to "sincerely" apologize and compensate for Japan's past atrocities during World War II, especially Korean "comfort women" who were forced into sex slavery for the Imperial Japan's military brothels.

They also asked President Park to demand the Japanese government's official apology and compensation for the wartime brutalities during the 1910-45 Japanese colonization of the Korean Peninsula.

A total of 167 civic groups issued a statement, demanding that the upcoming summit between Park and Abe be a dialogue to take a peaceful step toward resolving the comfort women issue and facing up to history.

The statement was issued under the name of 1,477 people, including 47 South Korean victims of the sex slavery who are still alive.