Former Japanese Military Comfort Woman Lee Oksun Passes Away at 97

Remains to Be Scattered at Sea off Incheon
Only Six Surviving Victims of Japanese Military Comfort Women Remain

Lee Oksun, a former victim of the Japanese military comfort women system, has passed away due to deteriorating health. She was 97 years old. According to the House of Sharing in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, on the 11th, Lee Oksun passed away at around 8:05 p.m. at a nursing hospital in Seongnam. Born in Busan, she was taken to Yanji, China at the age of 14, where she endured hardships as a Japanese military comfort woman. In June 2000, she returned to Korea after 58 years and regained her citizenship the following year.

In 2019, at the 1402nd Weekly Wednesday Demonstration to Resolve the Issue of Japanese Military Sexual Slavery held in front of the former Japanese Embassy in Jongno-gu, Seoul, Grandmother Lee Oksun is greeting participants. Photo by Kim Hyunmin kimhyun81@

Even after suffering as a Japanese military comfort woman, she consistently testified to the international community to raise awareness about the atrocities committed by the Japanese military. Beginning with a lecture at Brown University in the United States, she traveled to countries including Japan and Australia for nearly 20 years, spreading the truth about the comfort women issue worldwide until her health declined. In particular, in 2013, she continued her human rights campaign by touring 12 cities, including those in the United States, Germany, and Japan. In 2016, together with the production team of the film "Spirits' Homecoming," which depicted the sorrowful lives of comfort women victims, she visited the United States to testify and participate in screenings, raising awareness of the victims' suffering. Even at the age of 90, during her visit to the United States, she said, "I wanted to tell my story in my own voice," and did not hesitate to testify abroad.

In 2019, grandmothers who were victims of the comfort women system and representatives of civic groups held a press conference at the Lawyers for a Democratic Society (Minbyun) conference room on the 13th, ahead of the first hearing of the lawsuit for damages against the Japanese government, which was initiated for the first time in three years. Photo by Kim Hyunmin

Regarding the Reconciliation and Healing Foundation, which was established in July 2016 as part of an agreement between the Korean and Japanese governments, victims and support organizations claimed that the agreement was invalid. At the time, Lee Oksun expressed her disappointment, saying, "The agreement is wrong. I trusted the government, so I am very disappointed." As public opposition grew and relations between Korea and Japan became strained, the government announced the dissolution of the Reconciliation and Healing Foundation in November 2018, just two years and four months after its launch.

Upon hearing the news of her passing, Shin Youngsook, Vice Minister of Gender Equality and Family, expressed her condolences, saying, "I hope she finds peace, as she endured many hardships during her lifetime." Currently, there are only six surviving registered victims of the Japanese military comfort women system in Korea. Lee Oksun's funeral altar has been set up at Shillakwon in Yongin, and the funeral is scheduled for the morning of the 14th. In accordance with her wishes, her remains will be scattered at sea off the coast of Incheon.