[Exclusive] Supreme Court Dismisses Final Appeal on Nanum House Donation Case

Victory for Donor Confirmed After Six Years
First and Second Trials: "Used for Intended Purpose"
Attention Turns to Lawsuit Against Yoon Mihyang

The Supreme Court has dismissed the final appeal filed by Nanum House, a support facility for victims of the Japanese military's comfort women system, through a summary rejection. As a result, the lower court's decision, which ordered Nanum House to return donations that were used for purposes inconsistent with their intended use, has been finalized.

According to the legal community on January 19, the Supreme Court's Third Division (Presiding Justice Lee Sukyeon) upheld the previous ruling on January 15 in the final appeal trial of a lawsuit filed by a donor, identified as Lee, seeking the return of donations from Nanum House.

This case began in 2020 when suspicions arose regarding the misappropriation of donations by Nanum House and the Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issues of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan (Korean Council). Nanum House had been raising funds under the pretext of supporting the living expenses of comfort women victims and operating a historical museum. Donor Lee contributed 50,000 won each month from August 2017 to April 2020, totaling 1.55 million won, specifically for the living support of comfort women victims. However, it was reported that the victims did not receive sufficient support and had to pay for their own medical expenses out of pocket.

Both the first and second instance courts ruled in favor of Nanum House, stating, "It is difficult to conclude that the donations were used for purposes other than their intended use." However, the Supreme Court overturned the previous ruling, stating, "There is a discrepancy between the stated purpose of the donations by Nanum House and their actual use," and remanded the case to the Seoul Central District Court. The retrial court accepted the Supreme Court's reasoning and ordered Nanum House to pay Lee 1.55 million won in donations plus delayed interest. Nanum House appealed again, but the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal through summary rejection, finalizing the decision.

This ruling has drawn attention to the ongoing donation refund lawsuit filed by donors to the Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issues of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan against former Assemblywoman Yoon Meehyang. In January last year, the Seoul Western District Court issued a settlement recommendation, advising the Korean Council and Yoon to return the donations. However, as Yoon objected to the recommendation, the trial is ongoing.

Former Assemblywoman Yoon was indicted on charges of embezzling donations from the Korean Council and, in November last year, received a suspended sentence of one year and six months in prison with three years of probation from the Supreme Court. She was subsequently granted a special pardon on Liberation Day.

On the 25th, when the second press conference of comfort woman victim Lee Yongsoo was held, busts of the late comfort women victims were erected at Nanum House in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@