Yoon Mi-hyang: "Thinking of Cho Kuk, whose family's every breath was scrutinized... The United Future Party's conspiracy"

Yoon Mi-hyang, representative of the Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issues of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan, is urging the Japanese government to issue an official apology at the 1,328th regular Wednesday demonstration held on the 28th in front of the Japanese Embassy in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Wondara] The Democratic Party of Korea and Yoon Mee-hyang, the elected member of the Democratic Citizens' Party, have dismissed the 'Yoon Mee-hyang allegations' raised by the United Future Party as "an attack by the conservative camp on the Democratic Party," but the political controversy continues.

On the morning of the 12th, Yoon posted on her Facebook, "Conservative media have started investigating the UCLA music students my daughter attends," adding, "They are asking whether my daughter drove a car, how she spent money, whether she lived alone, and so on," and said, "This morning reminds me of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk, whose family's every breath was scrutinized for six months." She continued, "My daughter did not have a car. She walked or took the bus," and "Before entering UCLA graduate school, she studied in Chicago for one year on a full scholarship," emphasizing that "(the related allegations) are nothing more and nothing less than a slanderous play created by conservative media and the United Future Party."

The Democratic Party, which took a strong stance by expelling members over Mayor Oh Keo-don's sexual harassment case and elected member Yang Jeong-sook's real estate speculation allegations, is also strengthening its rebuttal. Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Du-kwan said on his Facebook that day, "The conservative camp's attacks on Justice and Yoon Mee-hyang, the elected member of the Citizens' Party, continue," emphasizing, "When many remain silent, they are tearing apart the historic achievements of one person who devoted her life to informing the world about Japan's sexual slavery crimes." He added, "The media will continue to report daily, claiming exclusive stories based on unproven allegations through the prosecution's mouth," warning, "Many have suffered this way. If we remain silent today, the conservative ruffians' sword dance will soon be aimed at our necks."

Democratic Party spokesperson Kang Byung-won also appeared on CBS Radio the previous day, saying, "If then-representative Yoon Mee-hyang had known about the negotiation details with the Japanese government, she would not have remained silent." Citizens' Party spokesperson Je Yoon-kyung criticized in a statement, calling it "nothing more and nothing less than an attempt to disparage the elected member."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The United Future Party has been raising suspicions about the accounting transparency of the Justice and Memory Foundation, where Yoon served as chairperson, and about the costs of Yoon's children's overseas education. They claim that donations intended for comfort women grandmothers were misused for children's education expenses and other purposes. They also allege that Yoon was aware of the comfort women agreement with the Japanese government during the Park Geun-hye administration in advance. United Future Party elected member Cho Hae-jin pointed out that Yoon and her spouse's annual income is 50 million won, while the children's education expenses amount to 100 million won.

In response, the Justice and Memory Foundation held a press conference the previous day, stating, "All funds were used appropriately," and disclosed accounting documents. They also revealed receipts for living expenses paid to survivor Lee Yong-soo, which the United Future Party used as evidence, and donation usage details to refute the allegations of fund misuse. According to the accounting details disclosed by the foundation, 41% of the 2.2 billion won in donations was used to support comfort women victims. The foundation explained that the remaining funds were used for 12 projects, including scholarship programs, as the foundation is not solely an organization for the livelihood stability of comfort women survivors. They also presented lists and contents of articles from the time of the comfort women negotiations with the Japanese government, emphasizing that Yoon was not aware of the negotiation details.

On the same day, Yoon explained the scholarship expenses for her children, stating that they were "prepared from compensation money received by my husband, who was a victim of the fabricated spy case." Yoon's husband, Mr. Kim, was sentenced to four years in prison and four years of disqualification in October 1994 in the so-called 'Sibling Spy Group Case.' Kim claimed he never engaged in espionage activities and filed for retrial. In May 2017, the Supreme Court recognized some of Kim's innocence, and he received 190 million won in criminal compensation and 89 million won in damages. Yoon's children's overseas education expenses amount to approximately 103 million won (85,000 USD).

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