Grandmother Lee Yong-soo "I don't know where the donations from students are used"
Yoon Mee-hyang "Receipts kept with grandmothers' fingerprints"
[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Yeon-ju] Lee Yong-soo (92), a women's rights activist and former comfort woman victim of the Japanese military, criticized related organizations for the lack of transparency in the use of donation funds for the Wednesday Demonstrations. In response, Yoon Mi-hyang, former director of the Justice and Memory Foundation (Jeong-ui-yeon), expressed her feelings, saying, "I am so drained that I cannot even stand up."
On the 8th, Yoon posted on her Facebook, stating, "Activists who are 'working alongside the victims' are in a situation where they cannot say anything or even defend the legitimacy of their activities, and can only remain silent."
She added, "There are people telling me to respond. But today, I can only express my thoughts and feelings passively through writing like this," explaining, "Because the party I should respond to is the victim."
She continued, "Seeing today's articles and receiving calls from numerous reporters, I was so drained that I couldn't stand up. I thought of the elderly grandmother with high blood pressure, and during that situation, I tried calling her. I called three times, but she did not answer, so I gave up," she said.
Yoon refuted Lee Yong-soo's claims, saying, "The Justice and Memory Foundation's activities and accounting are thoroughly managed, audited, and reported. Since 1992, the foundation has kept receipts for support funds given to the grandmothers, all stamped with their seals."
She explained, "During a phone call with Lee Yong-soo this morning regarding the 1 billion yen received by the Park Geun-hye government under the 2015 Korea-Japan agreement, I realized her memory had changed," adding, "The other grandmothers and I knew in advance that the Park Geun-hye government received the 1 billion yen, but she alone did not."
She expressed frustration, saying, "I tried to help her recall and explain again, but she denied it, so we could not continue the conversation. From my experience with the victims, in such cases, we have no choice but to stop there."
She added, "Carrying the sorrowful times of many grandmothers and the weight of those years in my life, I intend to create a movement in the 21st National Assembly that 'works together even for those who have passed away.' It seems that is the only path I can take," she concluded.
Grandmother Lee Yong-soo, a surviving victim of the Japanese military sexual slavery, held a press conference on the afternoon of the 7th at a tea house in Nam-gu, Daegu, asserting that the Wednesday Demonstrations should be abolished and criticizing related organizations. Photo by Yonhap News
Earlier, on the 7th, Lee held a press conference at a teahouse in Nam-gu, Daegu, criticizing the Justice and Memory Foundation (formerly Jeong Dae-hyeop) for the lack of transparency in the use of donation funds for the Wednesday Demonstrations.
At the press conference in Nam-gu, Daegu, Lee stated, "The Wednesday Demonstrations should be abolished. They are of no help at all. We don't even know where the donations collected from participating students are used."
She also pointed out that a book published by related organizations compiling cases of comfort women victims "was released and sold without proper content verification."
Referring to Yoon, who was elected as a proportional representative of the Together Citizens' Party in the 21st general election, Lee raised her voice, saying, "The comfort women issue should be resolved by Yoon Mi-hyang, who was the representative of Jeong Dae-hyeop. Yoon Mi-hyang should not become a member of the National Assembly. This issue must be resolved."
Additionally, Lee denied reports from recent interviews with the media that she supported Yoon and exchanged kind words, saying, "Those are all fabricated stories made up by Yoon."
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