Citizen Group Alleges Yoon Mee-hyang's Embezzlement in Suspicious High-Price Purchase of Ansan Comfort Women Shelter... Prosecutors Reported

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] Following recent accounting issues at the Justice and Memory Foundation (Jeonguiyeondae), former Justice and Memory Foundation Chairperson Yoon Mi-hyang (currently a member-elect of the Democratic Party of Korea) has been accused by the prosecution over allegations of overpaying for the purchase of the 'House Where Peace and Healing Meet (Healing Center),' a shelter established for victims of the Japanese military sexual slavery.

The Action Alliance for the Restoration of the Rule of Law (Beopse-ryeon) held a press conference at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office on the morning of the 18th, announcing that they have filed a complaint against former Chairperson Yoon on charges of breach of trust.

Beopse-ryeon explained the reason for the complaint, stating, "Although purchasing the shelter for approximately 450 million KRW would have been a normal transaction, former Chairperson Yoon Mi-hyang bought it for 750 million KRW, causing the donation funds, which should have been properly used for the comfort of the comfort women victims, to benefit a third-party seller and inflicting losses on the organization."

They added, "The true nature of former Chairperson Yoon Mi-hyang and the Justice and Memory Foundation is not that the organization existed for the compensation and restoration of honor of the grandmothers, but rather that the grandmothers existed for the organization. The entire nation is outraged by the atrocities committed by former Chairperson Yoon Mi-hyang."

The predecessor of the Justice and Memory Foundation, the Korean Council for the Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan, purchased the Healing Center located in Geumgwang-myeon, Anseong-si, Gyeonggi Province in 2013 using 1 billion KRW donated by Hyundai Heavy Industries through the Community Chest of Korea in 2012.

At that time, the Justice and Memory Foundation bought the Healing Center for 750 million KRW, but according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's actual transaction disclosure system, nearby houses of similar size were traded for between 100 million and 400 million KRW in the same year. This led to criticism that the Healing Center was purchased at a price higher than the market value.

It was later revealed that the Healing Center, prepared through this process, was not used as a residence for the comfort women victims but rather for Justice and Memory Foundation staff workshops, drawing criticism that its use deviated from its intended purpose as housing for the victims.

Additionally, controversy arose as former Chairperson Yoon’s father was appointed as the building manager. The Justice and Memory Foundation stated that Yoon’s father received 1.2 million KRW per month from January 2014 to June 2018 for management and labor costs, and 500,000 KRW per month from July 2018 to April 2020 for management fees. The total amount paid over six years sums to 75.8 million KRW.

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