Grandmother I Yong-su: "Yoon Mi-hyang runs for office out of selfish desire... I cannot forgive her"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Dong-hoon] Lee Yong-soo (92), a victim of the Japanese military sexual slavery, strongly criticized Yoon Mi-hyang, the elected member of the Democratic Party of Korea who ran the Justice and Memory Foundation (Jeonguiyeokdae), in a second press conference, saying she "exploited the comfort women victims for personal gain." This came 18 days after Lee held the first press conference on the 7th of this month, raising suspicions about the use of the foundation's donation funds.

At the press conference held at the Inter-Burgo Hotel in Daegu that afternoon, Lee revealed, "The Citizens' Group with Grandmothers of the Military Sexual Slavery used the comfort women who risked their lives after being taken," and added, "They even took piggy banks that students brought."

Lee explained, "On June 25, 1992, I registered as a comfort woman through a secretary named Yoon Mi-hyang, and the next day (26th), I attended a comfort women meeting held at a church," adding, "At that time, a Japanese teacher gave 1,000 yen or so, and 1 million won was distributed. From then on, I saw Yoon Mi-hyang fundraising."

She distinguished between women referred to as Jeongsindae (mobilized labor corps) in the Japanese colonial era and comfort women victims, stating, "How can Jeongsindae and comfort women be the same?" and claimed, "The Council for the Resolution of the Issue of the Military Sexual Slavery by Japan (Jeongdaehyeop) exploited not only the Jeongsindae issue but also the comfort women victims." Lee added, "I thought I was so foolish to endure this and couldn't speak out, so I wanted to reveal this for sure."

She also expressed strong emotions, saying, "Knowing that the Japanese people would neither compensate nor apologize, they sold out the grandmothers," and asked, "Why should I be sold out?"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On this day, Lee devoted much time to criticizing Yoon's fundraising activities and the various suspicions surrounding them. Regarding reports on the 19th that Yoon came down to Daegu and reconciled with her, she said, "It's utterly shameless," and explained, "We were not enemies; we lived together for 30 years. When she asked me to hug her once, thinking it was the last time, I hugged her, and my heart ached and tears welled up, but then an article about forgiveness came out, which was absurd."

She said, "This person (Yoon Mi-hyang) does whatever she wants and throws things away," adding, "She took personal gain and ran as a proportional representative in the National Assembly. She didn't even talk to me, and she does as she pleases, so why should she ask for forgiveness?" She further harshly criticized, "We do the hard work, and she takes the money. That money ate away at my flesh."

She also mentioned another victim, the late Kim Bok-dong, saying, "She is blind in one eye, yet they dragged her around to the U.S. and elsewhere, exploiting her hardships, and shamelessly shed tears at the funeral," calling it "fake tears and a case of giving a disease and then the cure." She emphasized again, "The prosecution will reveal everything," and "I cannot forgive Jeongdaehyeop for exploiting the comfort women to raise funds."

Lee concluded, "Through this kind of press conference, I feel deeply sorry that the two words 'woman' have been damaged to women worldwide," and said, "Knowing history, the unfair and unjust comfort women issue must be apologized for and compensated to clear the stigma against comfort women."