"Grandmother's Allowance" Yoon Mi-hyang Denies Allegations of Misusing 'Kim Bok-dong Scholarship' for Daughter's Tuition

Yoon Mi-hyang, Controversy Over March 2012 Facebook Post
"Media Reports Are Not True... Did Not Misuse Nabi Fund Donations Either"

On the afternoon of the 29th, Yoon Mee-hyang, the elected member of the Democratic Party of Korea, held a press conference at the National Assembly Communication Office, addressing various allegations including accounting fraud during her time at the Justice and Memory Solidarity. She is listening to questions from the press afterward.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon] On the 30th, Yoon Mi-hyang, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, refuted media reports stating that her daughter paid university tuition with the 'Kim Bok-dong Scholarship,' saying, "The expression in question emphasizes that it was an allowance given by Grandma Kim Bok-dong to my child."

Yoon stated in a post on her Facebook on the same day, "The report is not true," explaining as such.

On that day, Chosun Ilbo reported that based on a post Yoon made on March 13, 2012, on the Facebook page 'Nabi Fund,' which mentioned "Kim OO, who entered Kyung Hee University's College of Music, Department of Piano, as a Kim Bok-dong scholarship student," Yoon's daughter, Kim, received a scholarship from Grandma Kim and paid her university tuition.

In response, Yoon explained, "The post I made on Facebook on March 13, 2012, was not about my child receiving the 'Kim Bok-dong Scholarship,' but about donating 682,785 won earned from part-time work to the 'Nabi Fund'."

Regarding the phrase 'Kim Bok-dong scholarship student' at that time, she said, "That content is unrelated to the 'Kim Bok-dong Scholarship.' The expression emphasizes that it was an allowance given by Grandma Kim Bok-dong to my child," and disclosed a post she wrote on Facebook in February of the same year recounting an anecdote with Grandma Kim.

Photo by Yoon Mi-hyang, captured from the Facebook page of the Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker

In a post on Facebook dated February 3, 2012, Yoon wrote, "Grandma Kim Bok-dong, who is at the shelter, quietly called me into her room. Then she handed me an envelope. It was money. A lot of money," and introduced an anecdote with Grandma Kim, saying, "My eyes widened, and I asked, 'What is this?' Not knowing what it was and because it was 'money,' I strongly refused, asking why I should accept it. Then Grandma Kim started telling a long story."

At that time, Grandma Kim said, "You know I think of OO (Yoon's daughter) specially, right? After her father went to prison, she was born and grew up lonely without her father, which always pained my heart," and added, "We met and married during our work, and had OO. How could my heart not ache? I want to pay all her tuition, but my circumstances are not sufficient, so this is all I could prepare. If you don't accept this, you will be hurt," Yoon conveyed.

After sharing this anecdote, Yoon said, "I accepted Grandma Kim's scholarship. Tonight, flipping through the album, I really see that my child had no father in the childhood photos. I wonder if this was the heart of my mother, maternal grandfather, maternal grandmother, and Grandma Kim. Thank you, Grandma."

Regarding the 'Nabi Fund,' she said, "On March 8, 2012, Grandma Kim Bok-dong and Grandma Gil Won-ok started it with the hope that the Japanese government would legally compensate for the issue of Japanese military sexual slavery and that the compensation would be used to help victims of wartime sexual violence like themselves," adding, "Singer Lee Hyori was the first to donate, and many citizens joined. My child also participated."

About collecting the Nabi Fund through a personal account, she explained, "In March 2012, when the 'Nabi Fund Promotion Committee' started, a discretionary account named 'Yoon Mi-hyang (Nabi Fund)' was created at ㄱ Bank," and clarified, "All donations collected in that account were used for women affected by the Congo civil war and women who suffered from the Korean military during the Vietnam War, among other victims of wartime sexual violence."

She continued, "After being used according to the purpose of the Nabi Fund, the remaining balance was fully transferred to the Jeong Dae-hyeop (Nabi Fund) account in January 2016. Even now, the 'Nabi Fund' operates as part of Jeong Dae-hyeop's projects supporting victims of wartime sexual violence," she added.

She then pointed out, "The 'Kim Bok-dong Scholarship' reported by the media has nothing to do with the 'Nabi Fund,'" and stated, "Claims that the donations collected in that account were used by Yoon Mi-hyang personally or her family are false."

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