Justice Network "Unable to Properly Carry Out Project... Sincerely Apologize"
The snack inside the red circle is a Japanese snack. Photo by Yoon Mi-hyang, former representative of Jeon Jeongdae-hyeop, Facebook
[Asia Economy Reporter Seunggon Han] It has been revealed that the Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issues of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan (Jeongdae-hyeop), a civic group related to the victims of Japanese military sexual slavery, held a staff workshop and drinking party at the "House Where Peace and Healing Meet," a shelter for the victims in Anseong City, Gyeonggi Province. During the event, they were seen eating Japanese snacks as side dishes, which has drawn criticism as inappropriate considering the victims endured horrific suffering in Japan.
Yoon Mee-hyang, the elected member of the Democratic Party of Korea and former representative of Jeongdae-hyeop, posted on her Facebook in May 2016, stating "We are conducting a secretariat workshop," along with photos of the drinking party held at the "House Where Peace and Healing Meet."
In the photos disclosed by Yoon, beer, soju, and snacks that appeared to be side dishes were visible on the table. Among the snacks, two were Japanese products.
Furthermore, Yoon used the slogan "The 21st general election is a Korea-Japan match!" during the April general election. In September 2017, she also posted on her social network service (SNS) account mentioning Korea-Japan relations, writing, "When will we be liberated from colonial rule?"
Online communities have criticized this, saying things like "Is it acceptable for a civic group helping the comfort women victims to hold a drinking party?" and "How could they think of eating Japanese snacks?"
Former Director of the Justice Memory Solidarity, Yoon Mi-hyang, is being interviewed by Yonhap News at the Justice Memory Solidarity office in Mapo-gu on the afternoon of January 29.
This place was purchased with a donation of 1 billion won from a company in 2012 under the pretext of creating a shelter for comfort women victims.
After the purchase, until recently, Yoon’s father alone placed a container box at the facility, stayed there, and managed it, spending about 75 million won on labor costs over six years.
On the 16th, the Justice and Remembrance Council issued a statement saying, "We sincerely apologize for not being able to properly carry out the project."
Regarding the difficulty of the grandmothers residing there, they explained, "Due to the grandmothers’ ongoing activities such as participating in demand protests and testimonies, it was practically difficult for them to reside permanently in Anseong."
Regarding entrusting the management of the healing center to the father of the group’s representative, Yoon Mee-hyang, they said, "We requested building management to Yoon’s father, who had experience managing a church parsonage," but also admitted, "It was inconsiderate to designate a relative as the manager."
They added, "Other projects were also difficult to carry out with the secretariat staff, so after consultation with the fundraising association, we decided to discontinue the project as proper operation according to the purpose was not achieved."
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