Full Review of Private Organization Consignment Method
Establishment of Permanent Contact System Among Victims by Ministry of Gender Equality TF
Difficult to Cancel Other 'Jeonguiyeon' Corporation Projects
Continuous Inspection and Direct Government Management
On the 23rd, at the 1458th regular Wednesday demonstration for the resolution of the Japanese military sexual slavery issue, held in the form of a press conference on Peace Road in front of the former Japanese Embassy in Jongno-gu, Seoul, portraits of the late grandmothers were placed. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@
[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Lee] The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family will directly implement support projects for former Japanese military 'comfort women' victims starting next year. The ministry plans to review the existing system, which outsourced the projects to private organizations, and instead manage victims' medical care, housing, and daily life directly.
On the 25th, Hwang Yoon-jung, Director of the Rights Promotion Bureau at the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, held a briefing at the Government Seoul Office and stated, "Due to increasing social concerns regarding the operation and management of support projects for former Japanese military 'comfort women' victims, we plan to designate dedicated public officials in each region within the ministry to regularly visit and continuously check living conditions, as well as strengthen management such as providing emotional stability support."
To this end, the ministry will establish a 'Health Treatment and Customized Support Project Management Team' consisting of about four members. Director Hwang explained, "We will establish a constant communication system between the management team officials and the victims, and officials will accompany victims during visits to assess situations directly. This needs to be included in next year's planned projects, and we will conduct additional reviews regarding any necessary adjustments to the personnel." There are 16 remaining comfort women victims.
Regarding the case of Yoon Mee-hyang, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, who was recently indicted on charges related to fraudulent receipt of subsidies and scams, the ministry requested an explanation from the Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issues of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan (Jeongdaehyeop). If violations of laws are confirmed, the ministry plans to proceed with subsidy cancellation procedures according to the Subsidy Management Act.
Unlike Jeongdaehyeop, the Justice and Memory Solidarity (Jeonguiyeondae), affiliated with the National Human Rights Commission under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was not included in the prosecution's indictment, making project cancellation difficult. However, the ministry plans to strengthen subsidy disbursement by shifting from semi-annual to monthly payments and conduct ongoing inspections of subsidy execution to monitor the process directly.
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