Yoon Mi-hyang "Apologizes for Personal Account"... Denies All Other Allegations

Yoon Mi-hyang, a member-elect of the Democratic Party of Korea, who has been accused of accounting fraud related to the Justice Memory Solidarity, is holding a press conference to explain the matter on the 29th at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporters Park Cheol-eung, Kim Hye-min, Kang Na-hum, Jeon Jin-young] Yoon Mi-hyang, the elected member of the Democratic Party of Korea, denied all allegations surrounding herself and the Justice and Memory Foundation (Jeong-ui-yeon) on the 29th, including the undervalued sale of the Anseong Shelter and misuse of donation funds. She reiterated her position to retain her parliamentary seat, stating, "I will provide explanations and work responsibly until the public is convinced."

On the 29th, Yoon held a press conference at the National Assembly Communication Office and read a prepared statement, saying, "I sincerely apologize for the deep wounds and concerns caused to everyone who trusted and entrusted me."

◆ Allegations regarding Anseong Healing Center (Shelter) = Yoon first denied all allegations related to the Anseong Healing Center (Shelter), including the 'overpriced purchase controversy.' She stated, "Some media outlets raised suspicions that Jeongdae-hyeop purchased the 'house in Sangjung-ri, Geumgwang-myeon, Anseong-si' for more than 400 million KRW above market price, but this is not true."

She explained, "This house was a newly built building with an actual floor area of 60 pyeong. At that time, the owner said it was built using a steel house construction method costing over 6 million KRW per pyeong, with a total of 770 million KRW spent on civil engineering and construction, and it was listed for sale at 900 million KRW."

Yoon continued, "We made efforts to lower the asking price as much as possible, and the seller agreed to adjust the final sale price to 750 million KRW after hearing the purpose of establishing the Healing Center and saying 'It's a good cause,' leading to the sale."

Regarding the allegation of the undervalued sale of the Healing Center, she explained, "In September 2015, the Community Chest of Korea conducted a mid-term evaluation of the Anseong Healing Center, and on December 30 of that year, officially requested Jeongdae-hyeop to 'stop the project, return the remaining project funds, and sell the Healing Center.' Therefore, from 2016, Jeong-ui-yeon put the Anseong Healing Center on the market."

She added, "At the time of sale, the sale price was determined based on depreciation of the house, the lack of buyers over a long period causing a decline in building value, and changes in surrounding real estate prices, resulting in a sale price of 420 million KRW."

However, she expressed regret, saying, "I am sorry that the prolonged delay in sale ultimately caused losses to the donation funds."

Democratic Party of Korea elected member Yoon Mee-hyang is leaving the building through the underground parking lot after stating her position on the accounting allegations of the Justice Memory Solidarity at the National Assembly Communication Office on the afternoon of the 29th. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

◆ Prior knowledge of the 2015 Korea-Japan Agreement = Yoon strongly denied claims that she had prior knowledge of the Korea-Japan agreement. She said, "There are allegations that I knew about the Korea-Japan agreement in advance but did not inform the grandmothers, including Halmoni Lee Yong-soo, but this is clearly not true."

Yoon explained, "This fact was also confirmed through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' statement. On the 12th, the Ministry's spokesperson briefed that the report reviewing the Korea-Japan agreement on the comfort women issue did not specifically inform the victims and did not collect their opinions."

Regarding allegations that she blocked the grandmothers from receiving consolation money from the Japanese government after the Korea-Japan agreement, Yoon said, "We confirmed the intention of all grandmothers to receive the money and allowed each to decide independently. I emphasized that receiving consolation money should not be interpreted as supporting the Korea-Japan agreement, and the fundamental responsibility lies with both governments."

Yumi Hyang, a Democratic Party of Korea elected official, who has been suspected of accounting fraud related to the Solidarity for Memory of the Definition, is holding a press conference to explain the matter on the 29th at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

◆ Allegations regarding house transactions = Regarding allegations related to house transactions, Yoon stated, "There is no way that the purchase of five houses in cash by my family, including the auction purchase of the LG Apartment in Geumgok, Gwonseon-gu, Suwon, where I currently live, was done by embezzling funds from Jeongdae-hyeop."

She said, "I understand that the three houses refer to the Myeongjin Art Villa and Korean Apartment under my name, which have already been sold, and the LG Geumgok Apartment where I currently live," adding, "In 1993, my husband and I combined our money and started our newlywed life with a jeonse deposit of 15 million KRW."

She continued, "From 1994 to 1997, I lived rent-free in the church parsonage where my parents lived and saved money. During that time, in 1995, I acquired Myeongjin Art Villa for 45 million KRW. In 1999, with savings from my husband and me and help from my family, I bought the Korean Apartment for 79 million KRW."

Myeongjin Art Villa was sold in 2002 for 39.5 million KRW, and in 2012, she acquired the Suwon Geumgok LG Apartment through auction. Yoon said, "At that time, my husband had undergone cancer surgery and wanted to move to a more comfortable place. He liked the apartment complex near Chilbosan but found the market price too high. Since it was a large complex, he thought there might be auction properties and started looking into auctions." The acquisition price was 226 million KRW.

Yoon explained, "After one failed auction, we were the sole bidders in the second auction. I did not know about the auction process; my husband handled it." The funds came from savings, her husband's money, and loans from family.

She said, "The mixing of my personal account and Jeongdae-hyeop's account occurred after 2014. The apartment auction acquisition happened in 2012. The claim of misusing donation funds is completely unfounded."

The Korean Apartment she previously owned was sold in 2013, with the market price rising by 110 million KRW over 14 years, and the sale price was 189.5 million KRW. Yoon said, "I repaid the borrowed money with this and saved the remainder."

Regarding the villa in Hamyang under her husband's name, she explained, "After my father-in-law passed away, my parents-in-law, who lived in a farmhouse under my sister-in-law's name, sold it for 110 million KRW in 2017, and my mother-in-law bought a villa in downtown Hamyang under my husband's name for 85 million KRW. The balance was held by my spouse and deposited into my account on April 19, 2018."

Regarding the apartment owned by her father, she said, "My father served as a church deacon for about 22 years and lived in the church parsonage. Since there were no housing costs, he saved diligently and bought the apartment where he currently lives for 47 million KRW with his retirement pay after 22 years of service."

Democratic Party of Korea elected member Yoon Mee-hyang is leaving the building through the underground parking lot after stating her position on the accounting allegations of the Justice Memory Solidarity at the National Assembly Communication Office on the afternoon of the 29th. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

◆ Allegations of misuse of donation funds = Yoon partially admitted fault, saying, "It was a wrong judgment and a naive thought," regarding allegations that she collected donations in a personal account and used them for personal gain, but she insisted, "I did not use the money in the account for personal purposes."

She said, "While working with Jeongdae-hyeop, I conducted nine fundraising activities through four personal accounts. When it was not for all the grandmothers, I raised funds through my personal account as the representative, but now I realize it was a wrong judgment."

Yoon explained, "In the case of fundraising for the late Halmoni Kim Bok-dong's funeral, the Citizens' Funeral Committee, which had no legal status, organized the funeral, so it was inappropriate to use Jeongdae-hyeop's account. It was customary to use personal accounts for such purposes. Temporary donations or funeral fundraising often used the representative's personal account, and I did not have a strong sense of problem with this."

She apologized, saying, "I am sorry for acting with the naive thought that only the amount mattered. I used the funds by covering necessary project costs and transferring the remaining money to Jeongdae-hyeop's account, but upon reviewing recent transfer details, I found some sloppy parts. I feel ashamed."

However, Yoon emphasized, "Just because the funds were raised through personal accounts does not mean the money was used personally." She said, "I reviewed each transaction. About 280 million KRW was raised through nine fundraisings, about 230 million KRW was used according to the fundraising purposes, and the remaining 50 million KRW was confirmed to have been used for Jeongdae-hyeop's projects."

Yoon added, "I noted the reasons for transfers in the memo field almost all the time and can identify the nature of each transaction. There are numerous transactions over more than six years since 2014, so I cannot explain every detail, but since this is one of the accusations, I will explain thoroughly during the investigation."

Yoon Mi-hyang, the elected member of the Democratic Party of Korea, is answering reporters' questions after announcing her position on allegations of misconduct during her time with the Justice and Memory Foundation (Jeonguiyeon) at the National Assembly Communication Office on the afternoon of the 29th. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

◆ Future position = During the subsequent Q&A session, questions focused on the prosecution investigation, donation account allegations, and Halmoni Lee Yong-soo.

When asked if there was a special reason for receiving money in a personal account, Yoon explained, "Projects for all the grandmothers were raised under Jeong-ui-yeon or the organization's name. In the case of Kim Bok-dong's funeral committee, I was the chief mourner. Since the funeral committee was not an organization, I opened an account. Also, when taking grandmothers to Europe for Jeong-ui-yeon activities, I wanted to seat them in business class. Since it was not for all grandmothers, I raised funds through a personal account to make it easier."

When asked if she would comply with a prosecution summons, she replied, "I have no intention to avoid it. I will sincerely participate in all processes during and after the prosecution investigation. I have no intention to avoid it by using my position as an excuse. I will cooperate faithfully."

Regarding whether she was urged to resign within the party, she said, "No," and added, "I will consider the roles I must fulfill during the prosecution investigation and receive the investigation sincerely."

When asked if she had any message for Halmoni Lee Yong-soo, Yoon said, "I want to apologize to Halmoni Lee Yong-soo for becoming a betrayer and not earning her trust to the extent that she feels betrayed, even now."

Yoon reaffirmed her position to retain her parliamentary seat that day. She said, "Along with efforts to unravel the tangled issues related to my legislative activities, I will provide explanations and work responsibly until the public is convinced," and "I want to work harder than the past 30 years to fulfill the wishes of the grandmothers who stood as women's rights activists and peace activists, such as Halmoni Kim Bok-dong and Halmoni Kim Hak-soon."