Seoul’s dilemma is intensifying over a newly installed “comfort women” statue in Busan, as government efforts to relocate it stumbled amid citizens’ frenzied resistance while Tokyo stages a strong protest.

The memorial was initially put up on Dec. 28 on a sidewalk near the Japanese consulate in the port city, in a display of resistance toward a settlement on the sex slavery dispute reached precisely one year ago.

The police removed the statue after a local district office raised issue with the organizers’ failure to seek permission.

Yet as images and videos of authorities taking down the bronze, life-size sculpture of a girl in a traditional hanbok dress spread over social networks, the office was swamped with visits and calls from angry residents and other citizens across the country.

Its website was paralysed within a few hours.

Caving to pressure, District Mayor Park Sam-seok held a news conference two days later, allowing the monument’s reinstatement and apologising for the withdrawal and aggressive dispersion of the activists.

Youth Make Peace, a civic group that leads the campaign, put it back in place and held an official launch ceremony Saturday.

“This is an affair between the two countries, but as head of a local government, it’s become too much for me to handle,” Park said.

The consulate lodged a strong complaint and requested a removal to the Busan city government.

In Tokyo, Vice Foreign Minister Shinsuke Sugiyama reportedly phoned South Korea’s Ambassador Lee Joon-gyu, calling the statue’s erection “extremely regrettable” and urging its immediate elimination. Japanese Ambassador to Seoul Yasumasa Nagamine also protested Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam.

The girl statue has been a perennial source of contention between the two countries.

The Busan memorial is the second to be installed in front of a Japanese diplomatic mission, following the one near the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, and there are 37 others around the country.

Tokyo argues the statue’s erection breaches the 1961 Vienna Convention that defines the framework of diplomatic relations.

It calls for host countries to take “all appropriate steps” to protect the premises of diplomatic missions “against any intrusion or damage and to prevent any disturbance of the peace of the mission or impairment of its dignity.”

Under the Dec. 28, 2015 settlement, Seoul promised to work to “properly resolve” the issue through consultations with related organisations.

With the steadfast Busan district office and citizens, the Foreign Ministry is struggling to find a solution, prompting criticism for passing the buck to local governments.

“This is basically an issue that should be dealt with by related institutions according to law,” ministry spokesperson Cho June-hyuck said at a news briefing Tuesday.

“However, our position is that it needs a prudent decision from the aspect of international protocol and customs regarding the protection of diplomatic relations.”

The issue may have greater implications ahead of a presidential election in South Korea this year.

After years of historical tension, the two old foes have been mending their forces since the accord, building on momentum to clinch another sensitive pact on sharing military intelligence last month.

Yet many citizens and opposition parties remain resistant to the sex slavery deal, due to the government’s failure to consult in advance with the victims and the controversial clause on the statue.

Presidential contenders — both from the conservative and opposition camps — see the initiative as President Park Geun-hye’s legacy, seeking to overturn or renegotiate it in the new government.

In a Dec. 28 poll by Realmeter, about 59 per cent of the 525 respondents said the agreement should be revoked, whereas 25.5 per cent said it needs to be sustained.

“Given the Vienna Convention’s broad interpretations, it’s a matter of implementation, and depends more on domestic law and local government ordinances,” a ministry official said, requesting anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue.

“We’re not against the statue’s existence — it is part of history that must be remembered and preserved — but we see that it can stay in a better environment with greater access, such as at a park nearby. But with the unmoving district office, we are trying to come up with other solutions.”

They are the stuff of dream vacations that would inspire holiday planners or turn others green with envy.

An attractive Thai woman, who works as an Emirates flight stewardess cultivated a massive following after posting glamorous Instagram shots of herself in spectacular locations around the world.

Only known as “Ticha Louktarn”, the social media star amassed over 150,000 followers on her account, @ticha_ek, according to Coconuts Bangkok.

But as the adage goes: If it’s too good to be true, it probably isn’t.

And that’s why netizens took to social media to point out that many of her travel photos were stolen from other photographers with her own image edited into them.
 

Without warning, she deleted the questionable photos from her Instagram account before deleting the entire account last month (December), reported PetaPixel.

Some alleged that some photos were taken from elsewhere and manipulated with Photoshop, such as the one with a view of the northern lights in Canada. She was also accused of using such photos to boost her popularity on Instagram.
 

Tickled by the funny side of the issue, some mocked her by inserting their images into their own dream destinations.

Then there was also the Embassy of Finland in Bangkok which decided to have a little fun with the expose in a Facebook post which read: “Northern lights in Finland are so beautiful that many people wish they would experience them.”

South Korea’s Constitutional Court held the first hearing Tuesday to review the legitimacy of President Park Geun-hye’s impeachment over a corruption scandal involving her confidante Choi Soon-sil.

But with Park’s absence, the session lasted just nine minutes.

The court’s nine justices, headed by chief Park Han-chul, scheduled the next hearing for Thursday.

The court is allowed to proceed despite her absence, according to the Constitutional Court Act, with Park represented by her lawyers at the upcoming sessions.

The court chief Park asked for co-operation from both the parliament and the president to reconstruct the facts during the forthcoming proceedings.

“The court will do its best to hear the impeachment case sternly and fairly,” he said during the hearing that began at 2 p.m.

The top court has until early June to decide whether to uphold or overturn Park’s impeachment.

The National Assembly voted to oust Park on Dec. 9, stripping her of substantial executive powers, over suspicions that she allowed Choi to meddle in state affairs and colluded with her to extort money and favors from local conglomerates.

She is also accused of failing to perform her duty to protect the lives of citizens during the sinking of the Sewol ferry in 2014.

Outside the courtroom, members of the parliamentary impeachment committee criticised the president for holding a press meeting on Sunday, calling her self-defensive action outside the courtroom “improper” and “impolite.”

“It is a basic courtesy to reveal all the facts inside the courtroom (to justices) rather than outside the courtroom to reporters,” Rep. Kwon Seong-dong of the ruling Saenuri Party said in a press briefing.

“We will do our best to prompt a rapid and accurate ruling by verifying evidence and interrogating witnesses at the court.”

Park held a press meeting on Sunday, appearing for the first time in public since her impeachment by the parliament.

Park denied all the allegations, describing them “fabrication and falsehood” and saying she was totally “framed.”

Park’s lawyers said that they were not informed in advance of the president’s meeting with reporters.

They also said that Park would not likely appear for the upcoming hearings.

Read also: S Korea president stays away from impeachment hearing

The impeachment trial is likely to gain momentum Thursday, with key figures tied to the scandal expected to appear to testify.

In the hearing scheduled for Thursday, the court is set to bring in two of Park’s closest secretaries — Lee Jae-man and Ahn Bong-geun – and two administrative staff – Lee Young-sun and Yoon Jeon-choo — as witnesses to clarify suspicions of Park’s abuse of authority.

On the Jan. 10 hearing, other key suspects — Choi, former presidential aides An Chong-bum and Jeong Ho-seong — are expected to testify before the justices.

Among other charges, Choi is suspected of conspiring with Park and An to coerce donations from local conglomerates for foundations she controlled.

Jeong is suspected of leaking government secrets to Choi.

When witnesses fail to attend the hearings without justifiable reasons, they could face a jail term of up to one year and penalty of up to 1 million won.

The Constitutional Court has also signaled that it will accelerate the court proceedings mindful of the “gravity” of the situation, holding hearings at least twice a week.

The nine-judge court is under growing pressure to make a decision swiftly, as the terms for chief justice as well as the judge Lee Jung-mi are slated to end on Jan. 31 and March 31, respectively.

The previous impeachment trial of former President Roh Moo-hyun, which reinstated him, was concluded on the 63rd day, two weeks after the final hearing.