"Conflicted and Devastated" Supporters of 'Nanum-ui Jip' File Lawsuit to Return Tens of Billions in Donations

A bust of the late comfort women victims stands at Nanum House in Gwangju-si, Gyeonggi-do. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Seunggon Han] A class-action lawsuit demanding the return of donations has been filed against the comfort women support facility "Nanum-ui Jip (Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province)," which has been embroiled in controversy over the management of donation funds.

The "Comfort Women Grandmothers Donation and Sponsorship Refund Lawsuit Countermeasure Group" submitted a complaint to the Seoul Central District Court on the afternoon of the 4th, requesting the social welfare corporation "Daehan Buddhist Jogye Order Nanum-ui Jip," which operates Nanum-ui Jip, to return the sponsorship funds.

Kim Young-ho, the representative of the group, stated, "Nanum-ui Jip, a residential and nursing facility for Japanese military comfort women victims, has been repeatedly accused of illegal use of sponsorship funds through internal staff reports and media coverage such as MBC PD Notebook," adding, "Although a huge amount of sponsorship funds was raised under the pretext of helping the grandmothers, we were deeply troubled and devastated to learn through reports that the funds were not actually used for the grandmothers' treatment, housing, or welfare."

He also pointed out, "There are suspicions that Nanum-ui Jip intended to use billions of won in sponsorship funds received in the names of the victim grandmothers not for their medical care or funeral support but to build a 'hotel-style nursing home,'" emphasizing, "The place we thought was a sanctuary that cherished and cared for the grandmothers was busy using the sponsorship funds for their own benefit."

Representative Kim added, "As circumstances indicating that the sponsorship funds were not properly executed are being revealed one after another, many sponsors have joined the donation refund lawsuit," and "I believe it is the natural responsibility of sponsors to ensure that the funds are used according to the purpose of the sponsorship."

The group opened an online cafe called "Comfort Women Grandmothers Donation Refund Lawsuit Countermeasure Group" at the end of last month and began recruiting sponsors to participate in the lawsuit.

Nanum-ui Jip received 1.8 billion won in sponsorship funds in 2018 and 2.5 billion won last year. It is known that about 6,000 people sponsored last year.

According to a recent special inspection by Gyeonggi Province, a total of 7.35 billion won was deposited in 19 sponsorship accounts.

Established in 1992, Nanum-ui Jip currently houses five grandmothers who are victims of the comfort women system.

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