More than 100 South Korean women forced to work as prostitutes for U.S. soldiers stationed in the country have filed a landmark lawsuit accusing Washington of abuse, their lawyers said Tuesday.

Historians and activists say tens of thousands of South Korean women worked for state-sanctioned brothels from the 1950s to 1980s, serving U.S. troops stationed in the country to protect the South from North Korea.

In 2022, South Korea¡¯s top court ruled that the government had illegally ¡°established, managed and operated¡± such brothels for the U.S. military, ordering it to pay around 120 plaintiffs compensation.