[Asia Economy Reporter Park Cheol-eung] Yoon Mi-hyang, the elected member of the Democratic Party of Korea, stated that the allegations of encouraging North Korean defector waitresses from Ryugyong Restaurant to defect to the North are "all false and untrue."
At a press conference held at the National Assembly Communication Office on the 29th, Yoon said, "The victim grandmothers have often held meetings to form a dining community by inviting sexual violence victims, human rights activists, and activists for meals and exchange gatherings," adding, "Meetings such as Jajangmyeon Day with Marymond staff, gatherings with Peace Butterflies, and inviting survivors from global armed conflict zones to convey messages from the grandmothers as senior women's rights activists were all exchange meetings with the same purpose."
In November 2018, Yoon’s husband and lawyer Jang Kyung-wook proposed a meeting to Yoon and the Jeongdaehyeop side with the content that ‘the North Korean defector waitresses meeting the grandmothers itself would be a great support,’ and when this was conveyed to grandmother Gil Won-ok, she readily accepted.
Yoon said, "On November 17, 2018, at Mapo Shelter, Peace Our Home, North Korean defector waitresses from Ryugyong Restaurant were invited to have dinner together with food prepared directly by activists and shared conversations," adding, "Grandmother Gil Won-ok, who shares the common hometown of Pyongyang, and the defector waitresses only talked about ‘how the defector waitresses are living in South Korea’ and ‘working part-time late into the night after finishing school studies.’"
He continued, "I clearly state once again here that the reports by some media claiming that I and Jeongdaehyeop ‘provided financial support to the defector waitresses or encouraged them to defect to the North’ are all false and untrue."
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