Unexpected Seat Battle in Front of the Statue of a Girl... "Distorting the Comfort Women Movement" vs "Dissolution of Jeonguiyeon"

Jayuyonda, Occupying in Front of the Statue of Peace from the 23rd to the 10th of Next Month
University Student Group Supporting Wednesday Demonstrations: "Clear Intent to Undermine Comfort Women Movement"

A statue of a young girl is placed in front of the former Japanese Embassy in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the 25th, ahead of the second press conference of Grandmother Lee Yong-soo, who raised concerns about the opaque use of funds by the Justice Memory Solidarity. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] In front of the Japanese Embassy in Jongno-gu, Seoul, there is the Statue of Peace. The space in front of the statue has been used as the site for the Wednesday Demonstrations for the past 30 years. However, as controversies surrounding the Justice and Memory Solidarity (Jeonguiyeokyeondae) that organized the Wednesday Demonstrations and former director Yoon Mi-hyang (currently a member of the Democratic Party of Korea) erupted, conservative groups began to occupy this space. Supporters of the Wednesday Demonstrations strongly opposed this.

According to the police on the 10th, the conservative group Liberty Solidarity filed a protest notification to hold a rally in front of the Statue of Peace in Susong-dong, Jongno-gu, from the 23rd of this month to the 10th of next month. In accordance with the Assembly and Demonstration Act, which requires notifying the competent police station 30 days before the rally, they have been waiting daily at the Jongno Police Station to submit their rally notification first. This law stipulates that when holding an assembly or demonstration, the organizer must submit a notification to the competent police station between 720 hours (30 days) and 48 hours before the start of the event.

Accordingly, Jeonguiyeokyeondae, which has held the Wednesday Demonstrations here every week, is now facing the prospect of being pushed to another nearby rally site starting from the 23rd. The Wednesday Demonstrations began in 1992 and have been held here a total of 1,443 times as of today (the 10th). Kim Sang-jin, Secretary General of Liberty Solidarity, stated, "We plan to submit rally notifications daily and secure the location until our proposals, such as Yoon Mi-hyang’s resignation and the dissolution of Jeonguiyeokyeondae, are accepted."

University student groups supporting the Wednesday Demonstrations have defined this as an act to undermine the comfort women movement itself and have started relay solo protests. On this day as well, from 8 a.m., they took turns holding placards reading "University students continue the 30-year history of the Wednesday Demonstrations" and conducted relay solo protests. Jung Cheol-woo, Secretary General of Seoul University Student Solidarity Hana, said, "The suspicions about Jeonguiyeokyeondae should be clarified through investigation, and the value of the comfort women movement should not be damaged using this as an excuse," adding, "Because the conservative groups clearly intend to distort and damage the comfort women movement itself, we have taken part in relay solo protests."

The university club Peace Butterfly Network also held a "24-hour University Student Action to Protect the Wednesday Demonstrations" on the 30th of last month and attempted to secure the rally notification for the 1st of next month. However, they ultimately failed to secure the location. Lee Tae-hee, representative of the Peace Butterfly Network, said, "It is still under discussion whether we will continue activities to protect the Wednesday Demonstration site in the future."

Meanwhile, on the same day when the funeral of the late Director Son of 'Peace Our Home (Mapo Shelter)' was solemnly held, the Wednesday Demonstrations continued. Since various suspicions related to Jeonguiyeokyeondae surfaced, rallies by both Jeonguiyeokyeondae supporters and conservative groups have been held simultaneously around the Statue of Peace every week.

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