Another Comfort Woman Victim Passes Away... Growing Calls for Yoon Mee-hyang's Resignation

On the 26th, One Comfort Woman Victim Passed Away... 17 Victims Remain
"Resign Yoon Mi-hyang" Public Outcry Grows

On the afternoon of the 25th, when the second press conference of grandmother Lee Yong-soo, a victim of the Japanese military sexual slavery who exposed issues of accounting transparency in the Justice Memory Solidarity, was held, a member of the Saemaul Youth Union was struggling with the police in front of the former Japanese Embassy in Jongno-gu, Seoul, to place a sign demanding the arrest of Yoon Mee-hyang on the Statue of Peace.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy reporters Seunggon Han and intern Seulgi Kim] Amid growing suspicions surrounding Yoon Mi-hyang, the elected member of the Democratic Party of Korea, one of the surviving comfort women residing at the 'Nanum House' in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, has passed away. Furthermore, as allegations of accounting fraud against Yoon have spread, concerns are rising that the pain of the surviving comfort women is deepening.

On the 26th, Justice and Memory Solidarity (Jeonguiyeondae) announced on its homepage, "Early this morning, one of the grandmothers residing at Nanum House passed away," and added, "We pray for her soul." They also stated, "In accordance with the wishes of the grandmother and her bereaved family, all funeral arrangements will be held privately."

Earlier this year, grandmother A, a surviving comfort woman living in Changwon, Gyeongnam, passed away due to old age, and grandmother Lee, another surviving comfort woman residing in Daegu, also passed away from old age in March.

On the afternoon of the 25th, grandmother Lee Yong-soo (92), a victim of the Japanese military sexual slavery, held a press conference at the Inter-Burgo Hotel in Manchon-dong, Suseong-gu, Daegu. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Given these circumstances, public opinion suggests that the pain experienced by the grandmothers may not be well known externally, especially as it intertwines with the suspicions surrounding Yoon.

On the 7th, attention was drawn to the first revelation related to Jeonguiyeondae by 92-year-old grandmother Lee Yong-soo. On that day, grandmother Lee held a press conference at a teahouse in Nam-gu, Daegu, stating, "Students nationwide donate money for the grandmothers (surviving comfort women), but it has never been used for the grandmothers," exposing issues such as accounting fraud allegations against Jeonguiyeondae.

Grandmother Lee particularly mentioned Yoon Mi-hyang, former director of Jeonguiyeondae who was elected in the 21st general election, saying, "The comfort women issue should be resolved by Yoon Mi-hyang, who was the representative of Jeongdaehyeop. Yoon Mi-hyang should not become a member of the National Assembly. This issue must be resolved," raising her voice.

Later, on the 25th, grandmother Lee held a second press conference at Hotel Inter-Burgo in Suseong-gu, Daegu, demanding Yoon’s attendance, but Yoon did not appear that day.

Some speculate that this is a strategy to delay until the start of the term. After the term begins on the 30th, Yoon will gain parliamentary immunity as an active member of the National Assembly.

Parliamentary immunity means that even if a prosecutor requests an arrest warrant for a member of the National Assembly, the member cannot be arrested during the session unless the National Assembly plenary session passes a motion consenting to the arrest.

Voices demanding the resignation of Yoon Mi-hyang posted on social networking services (SNS) and the Democratic Party of Korea members' bulletin board./Photo by Twitter, Democratic Party of Korea members' bulletin board screenshot

Following grandmother Lee’s press conference, the prosecution conducted a raid on Jeonguiyeondae over allegations of sloppy accounting, and calls for Yoon’s resignation have intensified day by day.

According to a public opinion poll conducted by Realmeter on the 26th at the request of OhmyNews, surveying 500 men and women aged 18 and over nationwide, over 70.4% responded that Yoon should resign from her position as a member of the National Assembly.

Moreover, on social networking services (SNS) such as Twitter, a hashtag campaign #YoonMiHyang_Resign has emerged recently. On the 27th, a Twitter user participating in the hashtag campaign expressed outrage, saying, "How could you exploit the comfort women grandmothers like that?"

Another Twitter user strongly criticized Yoon, saying, "Yoon Mi-hyang was not volunteering but working. She adorned herself and collected money," adding a hashtag supporting grandmother Lee Yong-soo.

Former Director Yoon Mi-hyang of the Justice Memory Solidarity
[Photo by Yonhap News]

On the same day, posts criticizing the Democratic Party leadership for remaining silent about Yoon and her position were continuously posted on the Democratic Party members’ bulletin board.

Democratic Party member A said, "I never thought I would see the Democratic Party trying to cover up past corruption by hiding behind parliamentary immunity. The leadership under Lee Hae-chan, who dismisses the donation fraud as nothing serious, is also disappointing," raising their voice.

Another member B also claimed, "When will Yoon Mi-hyang step down? If she is human, she should resign. Why does she keep turning a blind eye? While fact-checking is important, even the current allegations alone warrant Yoon’s expulsion."

Meanwhile, on the 18th, Yoon stated in an interview with CBS Radio’s 'Kim Hyun-jung’s News Show,' "I am not considering (resignation)."

Yoon said, "I sincerely apologize for the situation that has arisen. I am not considering resignation demands. I hope you will watch closely through my future legislative activities," she said.

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