Suspicion Over the Use of Donations at Nanum House... Management Admitted Mistakes and Apologized Last Year

Allegations have been raised that the donations for 'Nanum-ui Jip' in Gwangju, Gyeonggi-do, a care facility for Japanese military 'comfort women' victims, were not used for the victims, with claims that former management admitted to wrongdoing in the past. Photo by Channel A

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ga-yeon] Amid allegations that the Gyeonggi-do Gwangju 'Nanum-ui Jip,' a care facility for Japanese military 'comfort women' victims, did not use the donations for the victims, a recording file has been released in which the former management of Nanum-ui Jip admits wrongdoing and apologizes, sparking expected repercussions.

On the 26th, Channel A reported that the management had apologized last year regarding the suspicions about the use of Nanum-ui Jip's donation funds.

According to the report, in August of last year, a meeting was held with the director of Nanum-ui Jip, the secretary-general, other management members, staff, and corporate directors after employees raised concerns about the use of donation funds.

In the released recording file from that day, Kim Dae-wol, the curator of Nanum-ui Jip, strongly criticized, saying, "The grandmothers go out wearing summer shoes in winter, and if they have no money, they cannot buy clothes. These are the issues being raised. It is unreasonable."

Kim, the then secretary-general responsible for expenditures and financial affairs, reportedly apologized, saying, "The problems started largely due to my negligence. I have reflected on this and will work with the staff to make efforts for the grandmothers."

However, three weeks after that day, as embezzlement suspicions surfaced, Kim reportedly disappeared without a trace.

Earlier, on the 22nd, Kim appeared on CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' and claimed, "The facility is not supposed to keep cash, but a large amount of foreign currency and cash was found in the secretary-general's desk drawer," adding, "I understand that about 20 to 30 million won in foreign currency and Korean won was found."

He said, "When we asked the secretary-general about the ledgers for the large amounts of foreign currency that had come in so far, he said that no ledgers had been kept for 20 years," and added, "He said that the money was deposited in the bank each time, but foreign currency donated in 2014 was also found."

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