[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Dong-hoon] Lee Yong-soo (92), a victim of the Japanese military sexual slavery, strongly criticized Yoon Mee-hyang, the elected member of the Democratic Party of Korea who ran the Justice and Memory Foundation (Jeonguiyeondae), during her second press conference, saying she "used the comfort women victims for personal gain." This came 18 days after Lee held her first press conference on the 7th of this month, raising suspicions about the use of Jeonguiyeondae's donation funds.
At the press conference held at the Inter-Burgo Hotel in Daegu that afternoon, Lee devoted much time to criticizing Yoon's fundraising activities and the various allegations surrounding them.
She said, "This person (Yoon Mee-hyang) does whatever she wants and abandons everything," adding, "She took personal gain and ran as a proportional representative in the National Assembly. She didn't even tell me, and while doing whatever she wanted, why is she asking for forgiveness?" She further harshly criticized, "We did all the hard work, but (Yoon Mee-hyang) took the money. That money ate away at my flesh."
Referring to another victim, the late Kim Bok-dong, she said, "She is blind in one eye, yet they dragged her around to the U.S. and elsewhere, exploiting her, and then shamelessly shed tears at the funeral," calling it "fake tears and a case of giving a disease and then the cure." She emphasized repeatedly, "The prosecution will reveal everything," and "I cannot forgive Jeongdaehyeop for using the comfort women to raise funds."
She added, "Yoon Mee-hyang thinks (about the use of donations) with confidence," but said, "If she committed a crime, she must be punished." Regarding whether Yoon would resign from her parliamentary seat, she said, "She did as she pleased, so I will not discuss it further." However, she appealed emotionally, saying, "(Yoon Mee-hyang) worked on the comfort women movement for 30 years but betrayed us overnight, and I, who was betrayed, am very upset."
On the same day, Lee revealed, "The Citizens' Group with Grandmothers of the Military Sexual Slavery used the comfort women who risked their lives being taken," and "They even took the piggy banks that students brought." She explained, "On June 25, 1992, I registered as a comfort woman with a secretary named Yoon Mee-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 distributed 1 million won. From then on, I saw (Yoon Mee-hyang) fundraising."
She distinguished between the term Jeongsindae, referring to women working in military factories during the Japanese colonial era, and comfort women victims, saying, "How can Jeongsindae and comfort women be the same?" and claimed, "The Jeongsindaedaechakyeobhoe (Jeongdaehyeop) used 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 even speak, so I wanted to reveal this for sure."
She also showed an agitated reaction, saying, "They sold out the grandmothers knowing that the Japanese would neither compensate nor apologize," and "Why should I be sold out?"
Lee said, "Through this kind of press conference, I feel truly sorry that the two letters meaning 'woman' have been damaged to women worldwide," and added, "Knowing history, the unfair and unjust comfort women issue must be apologized for and compensated to clear the comfort women stigma."
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