[Asia Economy Reporter Yoon Seul-gi] Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People’s Party, criticized a bill proposed by some members of the Democratic Party, including independent lawmaker Yoon Mi-hyang, that prohibits defamation against organizations related to Japanese military 'comfort women' victims, saying, "It is no exaggeration to call it the 'Justice Memory Solidarity (Jeonguiyeon) Protection Act' or the 'Yoon Mi-hyang Protection Act.'"
On the morning of the 24th, Ahn posted on his Facebook, stating, "The Democratic Party is trying to enact a 'comfort women criticism punishment law' that prohibits not only the comfort women grandmothers and their families but also 'factual statements' about comfort women-related organizations."
He particularly emphasized that independent lawmaker Yoon Mi-hyang participated as a co-sponsor of the bill, saying, "This bill shows the current administration’s 'anti-liberal' or 'totalitarian' tendencies," and added, "It is a series of anti-liberal measures aimed at gagging freedom of expression and conscience, following the ban on North Korean leaflets law and the media arbitration law."
Furthermore, Ahn pointed out, "This bill shows a tendency toward 'state privatization.' Since the current administration took office, a series of 'self-benefit laws for activist groups' have run rampant," and recalled, "It reminds me of the 'Democratization Merit Act,' which provided scholarships and housing loans to spouses and children of democratization merit recipients but was withdrawn due to public opinion."
He continued, "'The comfort women criticism punishment law' seems to be an intention to monopolize the comfort women grandmothers, who should be the responsibility of all citizens, as the property of a specific organization."
Ahn also criticized the Democratic Party, saying, "They unilaterally passed the Carbon Neutrality Basic Act in a chaotic manner and used independent lawmaker Yoon Mi-hyang as the opposition’s 'joker,'" and added, "The disgraceful quid pro quo in lawmaking is astonishing."
While emphasizing, "If there is a related group suspected of taking private interests by holding the comfort women grandmothers hostage, they should be subject to even more thorough criticism and surveillance," Ahn urged the Democratic Party to "immediately stop the 'self-sanctification' of becoming the sole judge of history."
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