Yongsoo Lee: "We Must Avoid Undermining Justice Network's Achievements... Need to Overcome Project Errors"

"Active Together for 30 Years with Achievements"
On the 13th at the 'Wednesday Rally' held in Jongno-gu, Seoul, Jeonguiyeon Claims "No Accounting Fraud"

Grandmother Lee Yong-soo, a surviving victim of the Japanese military 'comfort women', is criticizing related organizations and arguing that the Wednesday Demonstration should be abolished at a press conference held at a tea house in Nam-gu, Daegu on the afternoon of the 7th. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Lim Ju-hyung] Grandmother Lee Yong-soo (92), a victim of the Japanese military sexual slavery who raised suspicions about the misuse of comfort women donations by the Justice and Memory Foundation (Jeong-ui-yeon), stated that "the disparagement of the achievements made by (Jeong-ui-yeon) and the exhausting debates should be avoided."

On the 13th, in a statement posted on her Facebook under the name 'Women’s Human Rights Activist Lee Yong-soo,' she said, "For the past 30 years, I have worked extensively with the Council for the Resolution of the Issue of Military Sexual Slavery and later with Jeong-ui-yeon," adding, "There have been achievements in raising awareness of the comfort women issue not only domestically but globally, leading to empathy, participation, and action to ensure such acts never happen again."

She continued, "For a society where pain does not repeat, there must be official recognition of the crime by the perpetrator country Japan, an apology, sincere investigation, legal compensation, and official punishment of those responsible at the time," emphasizing, "Legal and institutional measures must be established to prevent recurrence, and the honor and human rights restoration of victims, including myself, must be achieved."

Regarding Korea-Japan relations, she explained, "Apart from the responsibility of the perpetrator country, a perspective is needed to prepare future history for building sound exchange relations between the peoples of Korea and Japan," and added, "I believe education for students of both countries is important."

About Jeong-ui-yeon, she said, "A process is needed to overcome errors or mistakes in the way projects are conducted," and stated, "Focus should be placed on necessary projects rather than new ones, and their outcomes should be organized so that anyone can easily understand and empathize with them."

On the 13th, at the 1439th regular Wednesday demonstration for the resolution of the Japanese military sexual slavery issue held in front of the former Japanese Embassy in Jongno-gu, Seoul, Inayeong, Chairperson of the Justice Memory Solidarity, is speaking. / Photo by Yonhap News

Earlier, on the 7th, Grandmother Lee held a press conference at a tea house in Nam-gu, Daegu, raising suspicions about the unclear use of Jeong-ui-yeon’s donation and contribution funds. On that day, she claimed, "When donation funds are collected, they should be used for the grandmothers, but they have never been used for them," and added, "I don’t even know where the donations from students who participated in the Wednesday Demonstrations are spent."

In response, Han Kyung-hee, Secretary General of Jeong-ui-yeon, explained, "The donations have been used to support the victim grandmothers and publish books, among other activities aimed at resolving the issue of Japanese military sexual slavery," and said, "There may have been parts where the grandmother felt hurt or misunderstood during the 30 years of joint activities."

Jeong-ui-yeon also reiterated on the 13th at the 1,439th regular Wednesday Demonstration held in front of the former Japanese Embassy in Jongno-gu, Seoul, that there was no accounting fraud.

On that day, Lee Na-young, Director of Jeong-ui-yeon, stated, "There has been absolutely no personal embezzlement or illegal operation, and we have undergone annual accounting audits by lawyers and certified public accountants, receiving confirmation that there were no issues," explaining, "There was a minor mistake in the National Tax Service system, but it will be corrected immediately according to the disclosure order."

She added, "Through re-disclosure, we aim to end unnecessary suspicions related to the use of Jeong-ui-yeon’s donations," emphasizing, "We clearly state once again that there has been no illegal misuse or embezzlement of donation funds by Jeong-ui-yeon."

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