Jin Joong-kwon on Justice and Women's Association Controversy: "30 Years of Activism?... Could It Be Heavier Than Grandmothers' 80 Years of Suffering?" Criticism

Former Dongyang University professor Jin Joong-kwon speaking at the discussion titled "Talking about the 21st General Election! Lost Conservative Politics, What is the Solution?" held on the morning of the 15th at the National Assembly Members' Office Building in Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Yeon-ju] Former Dongyang University professor Jin Joong-kwon pointed out on the 26th that "the serious issue is that there seems to be no way out of how to resolve this situation" regarding the controversy surrounding the Justice and Memory Foundation (Jeonguiyeokdae) and Yoon Mi-hyang, the elected member of the Democratic Party of Korea (former director of Jeonguiyeokdae).

In a post on his Facebook that day, former professor Jin stated, "From the beginning, women's organizations approached this issue strictly from a 'camp' perspective," and "the women's organizations all rallied together with Yoon Mi-hyang, thus becoming not a 'solution' to the problem but a 'part' of the problem."

He criticized, "Since even the names of veteran activists were exploited, there is no one left to intervene in this situation," and added, "I don't understand why the problem is being handled this way."

He further explained, "The women's organizations siding with Yoon Mi-hyang have no idea what the problem really is," and "Calling it a 'hidden force' or 'native Japanese collaborators' means they have completely failed to accept the message that Grandmother Lee Yong-soo is conveying."

He continued, "Perhaps when the situation is somewhat settled and time passes so that everyone forgets this incident, they will believe it will resolve itself," adding, "What disappears there is the voice of the grandmother."

He also said, "They often talk about the '30-year movement,' but those 30 years belong to the grandmothers' history, not a history to be hijacked by themselves," and "Even if those 30 years fully belonged to them, the 30 years of activists' efforts probably do not outweigh the 80 years of suffering endured by the grandmothers."

In conclusion, he said, "In fact, the grandmother has presented a very difficult 'task' to our society," and added, "But it seems no one is interested in it."

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