Jin Joong-kwon on Yoon Mi-hyang Controversy: "Attacking Victims to Protect Activists... The Level of the Democratic Party"

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 of last month 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 31st of last month that some supporters of Yoon Mi-hyang, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea (former director of the Justice and Memory Foundation), were criticizing comfort women victim grandmother Lee Yong-soo, calling it "a situation where victims are attacked to protect activists."

On that day, Jin posted on his Facebook, saying, "The comments make me despair."

He added, "They seem to believe they are conducting a noble national liberation war by doing that," and criticized, "What is the ideology?"

In another post on the same day, Jin criticized, "For whom is this movement really for?" and said, "The grandmothers have even lost the right to say that their youth was taken by the Japanese colonial rule to Yoon Mi-hyang."

He pointed out, "Before we knew it, Yoon Mi-hyang, not the grandmother, has become the owner of the movement," and "The judgment is that to protect the movement, Yoon Mi-hyang must be saved and the grandmother's voice silenced."

He added, "(If Yoon is) even indicted by the prosecution, people will gather again in Seocho-dong."

Also, on the 1st, Jin criticized a post on the Democratic Party's member group Facebook page titled "A grandmother who held a soul wedding with a fallen Japanese soldier, a Japanese person's wife is practically Japanese. Apologize to the Korean people," saying, "Look at the comments on this post. This is the level of the Democratic Party."

The post was followed by a series of harsh comments targeting grandmother Lee Yong-soo, such as "A privileged Japanese grandmother who abused her power," "Get out of the Republic of Korea immediately," "She dug her own grave," "Did the government support a grandmother who is Japanese to the bone?" and "A grandmother who should be sent to Japan."

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