Prosecution Indicts Yun Mi-hyang on Charges of Embezzlement, Breach of Trust, and Fraud: "Used 57 Million Won for Personal Purposes" (Comprehensive)

Yoon Mi-hyang, Democratic Party of Korea member Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Dong-hoon] Yoon Mi-hyang, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, who is facing allegations of breach of trust and embezzlement related to accounting irregularities at the Justice and Memory Foundation, has been indicted.

The Criminal Division 4 of the Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Choi Ji-seok) announced on the 14th that Yoon was indicted without detention on seven charges including violation of the Subsidy Management Act, violation of the Act on the Collection and Use of Donations, embezzlement and breach of trust in the course of duty, and violation of the Public Health Control Act. Additionally, Mr. A, an executive of the Korean Council for the Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan (the predecessor of the Justice and Memory Foundation), who is accused of violating the Subsidy Management Act, the Act on the Collection and Use of Donations, breach of trust in the course of duty, and violation of the Public Health Control Act, was also indicted as an accomplice.

The prosecution also judged that Yoon illegally received approximately 170 million KRW in donations into her personal account under the pretext of funeral expenses for Grandmother Kim Bok-dong. Among these, raising 330 million KRW through five personal accounts and using 57.55 million KRW for personal purposes was considered embezzlement in the course of duty.

According to the prosecution, Yoon and others falsely applied for registration of the ‘War and Women’s Human Rights Museum’ despite not having a curator, which is a legal requirement for museum registration, and after registration, fraudulently received about 300 million KRW in subsidies from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Seoul Metropolitan Government. They also fraudulently received 65 million KRW in subsidies under the name of the ‘Comfort Women Victims Treatment Project.’

The prosecution applied charges of quasi-fraud against Yoon for conspiring with the director of the Mapo Shelter to exploit the mental and physical disabilities of a comfort women victim grandmother, causing her to donate or gift 79.2 million KRW to the Justice and Memory Foundation in nine installments.

They also judged the purchase of the Anseong Shelter at an inflated price of 750 million KRW (breach of trust in the course of duty) to be illegal. Furthermore, they applied charges of violating the Public Health Control Act for lending the Anseong Shelter to civic groups and individuals without notifying the competent authorities and collecting 9 million KRW in accommodation fees.

However, regarding the allegation that Yoon caused damage to the Justice and Memory Foundation by selling the Anseong Shelter, which was valued at around 600 million KRW in April, for 420 million KRW, the prosecution stated, "Considering the appraisal value of about 410 million KRW as of August 2020 and the delay in sale for four years due to lack of buyers, breach of trust in the course of duty is not established." Other allegations, such as the suspicion that Yoon unfairly awarded work to the Suwon Citizen Newspaper operated by her husband Kim Sam-seok, and that the Justice and Memory Foundation and the Korean Council for Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan falsely disclosed or omitted income and expenditure details on the National Tax Service's Hometax system, were also dismissed.

Moreover, about ten directors of the Korean Council for Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan and 22 current and former directors of the Justice and Memory Foundation, who were not recognized as involved in the crimes, were cleared of charges. Two staff members received suspended prosecution.

Earlier in May, Grandmother Lee Yong-soo, a victim of the Japanese military 'comfort women' system, held a press conference criticizing the fund management of victim support organizations, which led to a series of complaints from civic groups against the Justice and Memory Foundation.

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