'Donation Misuse Allegations' Whistleblowers at Nanum House Claim Harassment by Former and Current Directors

On the 25th, when the second press conference of grandmother Lee Yong-soo, a victim of the Japanese military sexual slavery, was held, busts of the deceased comfort women victims were erected at Nanum House in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Dong-hoon] Internal employees who accused 'Nanum-ui Jip,' a shelter for Japanese military comfort women victims, of using donations for real estate purchases and other purposes claimed that they have been harassed after their revelations, and that the newly appointed director is attempting to cover up the incident.

On the 22nd, the 'Investigation Committee on the Incident at the Social Welfare Corporation Daehan Buddhist Jogye Order Nanum-ui Jip (Investigation Committee),' composed of activists from civic groups such as Dasan Human Rights Center, Disability and Human Rights Barefoot Action, and Lawyers for a Democratic Society, stated in a press release, "There have been situations where employees who blew the whistle inside (Nanum-ui Jip) have been harassed, and there are concerns about the concealment and destruction of facility and corporate administrative and accounting documents." They added, "This morning, former director An Sin-gwon entered the facility, mocked and threatened employees, and has been shifting the responsibility for operations."

The Investigation Committee said, "The fact that former director An Sin-gwon can come and go at the facility indicates that he shares the same stance as the newly appointed corporate manager, facility director, and secretariat chief, who are related to the recent corporate board members." They revealed, "The new facility director and others are obstructing the work of the whistleblowing employees and monitoring employees by recording their movements with smartphone cameras." They further claimed, "These actions appear to be attempts to downplay and distort the corporation’s corruption, irregularities, and human rights violations reported by the employees."

Furthermore, the Investigation Committee questioned the accountability of Gyeonggi Province and Gwangju City in their supervision and management. The committee stated, "Before any legal measures through investigation and audit of Nanum-ui Jip are taken, there is a behavior exploiting this gap to steer the situation in their favor," and added, "This stems from the irresponsibility of Gyeonggi Province and Gwangju City, the entities responsible for guidance, supervision, and auditing."

Earlier, some employees of Nanum-ui Jip, including Kim Dae-wol, the head of the academic affairs office, filed complaints with the police in March and May against the former secretariat chief and director of Nanum-ui Jip on charges including breach of trust. The investigation is being conducted after being transferred from the Southern Gyeonggi Province Intelligence Crime Investigation Unit.

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