Yoon Mi-hyang Responds to Prosecution Indictment: "Ignoring Grandmother Gil Won-ok's Autonomy"

Yoon Mi-hyang, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, leaving her office at the National Assembly Members' Office Building on June 8.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Yeon-ju] Yoon Mi-hyang, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea accused of misappropriating donations intended for comfort women victims, has responded to the prosecution's decision to indict her without detention.

Starting from the night of the 14th, when the prosecution indicted her without detention, Yoon posted a series of videos related to Grandma Gil Won-ok on her Facebook, including 'Words of Grandma Gil Won-ok,' 'Support for Wednesday Demonstration Participants,' and 'Grandma Gil Won-ok's Request.'

This is interpreted as a response to the prosecution's indictment, which alleges that she exploited Grandma Gil, who suffers from dementia and mental disabilities, to donate to the Justice and Memory Foundation (Jeonguiyeon) aimed at resolving the issue of Japanese military sexual slavery.

Yoon said, "Why am I suddenly sharing videos of Grandma Gil from 2017 to 2020?" and added, "Because I wanted to remember Grandma's proud and admirable life as a peace and human rights activist with my friends, especially as it is being denied by the prosecution."

Earlier, Yoon also stated in a position paper, "The prosecution claimed that the donation of the women's human rights award prize money by the comfort women victims was quasi-fraud," and "At that time, the grandmothers clearly understood the meaning of the 'women's human rights award' and voluntarily donated the prize money to share its significance."

She emphasized, "The claim that the grandmother suffering from severe dementia was deceived ignores her mental and physical autonomy," and "The prosecution must take responsibility for this claim that insults the comfort women victims again."

Meanwhile, on the 14th, Yoon was indicted without detention on eight charges including violation of the Subsidy Management Act, violation of the Local Finance Act, fraud, violation of the Act on the Collection and Use of Donations, embezzlement in the course of duty, breach of trust in the course of duty, violation of the Public Health Control Act, and quasi-fraud.

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