Justice Memory Solidarity "Transparent Management of Donations... 41% of Donation Income Supports Victims" (Comprehensive)

Lee Nayoung, Chairperson of the Justice Memory Solidarity, is addressing the controversy over donations at a press conference held on the morning of the 11th at the People Human Rights Foundation in Mapo-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kim Hyunmin kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Dong-hoon] The Justice and Memory Foundation (Jeonguiyeondae) recently revealed that it spent 900 million KRW on projects supporting victims of the Japanese military’s sexual slavery over the past three years. This was a rebuttal to claims made by grandmother Lee Yong-soo (92), who argued that the foundation did not use donations for the victims, which caused controversy.

On the 11th, Lee Na-young, director of Jeonguiyeondae, held a press conference at the People Building of the Human Rights Foundation in Mapo-gu, Seoul, and said, "I apologize for causing unwanted pain to the grandmothers who have been like family and have worked together in the movement related to the Japanese military’s sexual slavery for the past 30 years." She continued, "I sincerely apologize for unintentionally hurting the hearts of conscientious citizens who supported the movement and allied civic groups," opening her remarks.

First, Director Lee clarified the founding purpose of Jeonguiyeondae. She explained that the organization was established not only to support victims but also to raise awareness about wartime sexual violence and to restore human rights. Lee said, "If we had only pursued humanitarian support, Jeonguiyeondae should have ceased to exist when the 'Act on the Support for Victims of Japanese Military Sexual Slavery' was enacted in 1993," adding, "We would not have been registered at the United Nations (UN) as an issue of 'sexual slavery' either."

She stated, "The 30 years of Jeonguiyeondae’s activities have been about expanding the issue beyond a specific time and place to address wartime sexual violence, together with victims who recognized their own problems as structural issues." She added, "Jeonguiyeondae has led efforts to remember wartime sexual violence and human rights issues by supporting victims’ lawsuits, domestic and international testimony activities, sustaining Wednesday demonstrations, and assisting in the establishment of the War and Women’s Human Rights Museum."

Jeonguiyeondae also explained that it has managed donations transparently and provided support to victims. Han Kyung-hee, secretary-general of Jeonguiyeondae, said, "From 2017 to 2019, about 900 million KRW, which is 41% of approximately 2.2 billion KRW in donation income, was used for victim support projects." She continued, "Even after the announcement of the 2015 Korea-Japan agreement on comfort women, we opposed accepting consolation money from the Japanese government until the end. In the second half of 2017, we conducted a 'Million Citizens Fundraising' and delivered 100 million KRW per person as a Women’s Human Rights Award to eight victims, including grandmother Lee Yong-soo, who fought against accepting the Japanese government’s consolation money."

Regarding whether Yoon Mee-hyang, former director of the Justice and Memory Foundation and elected member of the Democratic Party of Korea, received prior explanations from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs during the December 2015 Korea-Japan comfort women agreement, Director Lee said, "At that time, when reports about the Korea-Japan comfort women agreement came out in Japan, Jeonguiyeondae requested confirmation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The ministry replied that the media reports were incorrect and told us to 'trust the government.'" She added, "I do not know whether former director Yoon Mee-hyang was contacted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but what was shared on site at the time was only the information from Japanese media."

Jeong Hee Han, Secretary General of the Justice Memory Solidarity, is seen shedding tears while expressing her position regarding the donation controversy at a press conference held at the People Human Rights Foundation in Mapo-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the 11th. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

When asked by reporters about the reason for grandmother Lee Yong-soo’s raising of issues, Director Lee said, "I cannot speculate," but added, "The activists who have worked closest with the victims for 30 years are the ones involved. Just as one cannot always have a perfect relationship with their parents, there must have been disappointments and conflicts." She continued, "Because the victims are elderly, we should have listened more carefully to their feelings, and I will take this as an opportunity to reflect on our shortcomings."

The organization stated that donations were used for victim shelters, Wednesday demonstrations, and support for victims’ lawsuits, and that usage details are disclosed through accounting audits. Jeonguiyeondae also released four receipts, including one for 1 million KRW paid as living expenses to grandmother Lee in 1992.

Earlier, on the 7th, grandmother Lee Yong-soo, a victim of the comfort women system, claimed, "Donations and funds were never used for the grandmothers," and "I don’t even know where the donations collected by students participating in the Wednesday demonstrations go."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.