A civic group dedicated to the wartime sex slavery issue held its weekly rally for the first time in 16 months as pandemic distancing rules have eased.

The Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issues of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan resumed its signature protest at noon Wednesday near the former Japanese Embassy in downtown Seoul, where a peace statue also stands to commemorate the victims.

It marks the one-thousand-516th Wednesday gathering. Over the previous months, the council had only held a press conference in abidance of COVID-19 protocols. 

In a statement, the group called on Japan to acknowledge its past aggression and apologize to the victims, and pledged to continue their collective action until an apology is delivered.

Meanwhile, an organization that condemns pro-Japanese forces clashed with conservative groups over gathering rights near the peace statue. Some 240 police officers were deployed to disband the crowd.