"Return to the Arms of Nanum House Grandmothers" 청 Petition

Whistleblower Employee Claims "Corporate Board Shifts Responsibility to Management"

Nanum House, Gwangju, Gyeonggi / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Lim Juhyung] A petition has been raised requesting the government to directly intervene and punish the social welfare corporation 'Nanum-ui Jip,' a support facility for Japanese military comfort women victims, amid allegations of embezzling donations for personal use.

On the 9th, Kim Daewol, the curator of Nanum-ui Jip representing seven whistleblowing employees, posted a petition titled "Return Nanum-ui Jip to the Grandmothers and the People" on the Blue House National Petition Board.

In the petition, Curator Kim stated, "The social welfare corporation 'Daehan Bulgyo Jogyejong Nanum-ui Jip,' which operates Nanum-ui Jip, has raised over 11.8 billion KRW in donations for more than 20 years without registration under the Fundraising Act," and added, "Even after deleting the purpose of supporting Japanese military comfort women victims from its articles of incorporation, it continued to collect donations."

He continued, "The reason the Nanum-ui Jip corporation could operate lawlessly was due to the complicity of the supervisory institutions?Gwangju City, Gyeonggi Province, and investigative agencies," and claimed, "These institutions are shifting the burden of proof onto the whistleblowers."

He also requested, "The board of directors of the corporation is shifting all responsibility onto the facility's management. Those most responsible for the Nanum-ui Jip incident are waiting for this issue to quiet down without any remorse, so please prevent them from once again pretending to be the rightful owners of the donations."

Earlier, seven employees of Nanum-ui Jip, including Curator Kim, filed complaints through the National Petition System, alleging that the facility's management was accumulating donations received under the pretext of helping comfort women grandmothers in cash and real estate to use in the elderly care industry.

Subsequently, Gyeonggi Province and Gwangju City conducted special inspections and uncovered multiple indications of improper use of donations and non-compliance with laws by Nanum-ui Jip.

On the 2nd, Nanum-ui Jip held a disciplinary committee meeting and decided to accept the resignation of An Singwon, the director of Nanum-ui Jip, but the whistleblowing employees reportedly opposed this as a 'scapegoating' move.

Meanwhile, Nanum-ui Jip was established in 1992 with the purpose of providing a living space for comfort women victims. Currently, five comfort women grandmothers reside there, with an average age of 94.

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