Grandmother I Yong-su on Yun Mi-hyang's Indictment Mention: "No Regret at All"

"Yoon Mi-hyang's Guilt Will Be Judged by the Law"

Grandmother Lee Yong-soo (92), a victim of the Japanese military sexual slavery, holds a press conference on the afternoon of May 25 at the Inter-Burgo Hotel in Manchon-dong, Suseong-gu, Daegu.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Yeon-ju] Grandmother Lee Yong-soo, a victim of the Japanese military sexual slavery, expressed her stance on June 15 regarding the non-custodial indictment of Yoon Mi-hyang, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea and former chairperson of the Justice and Memory Foundation (Jeonguiyeondae), saying, "Although Yoon Mi-hyang, who worked together for over 30 years to resolve the comfort women issue, has been indicted, I feel no sorrow at all."

In a phone interview with JoongAng Ilbo on the same day, Grandmother Lee said, "I am not the one to answer about Yoon Mi-hyang’s crimes; the law should decide. The law will judge accordingly."

Earlier, on the 14th, Representative Yoon was non-custodially indicted on charges including embezzlement of over 100 million won from public funds such as donations for comfort women victims. She faces 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.

Regarding this, Grandmother Lee said, "I worked with Representative Yoon Mi-hyang for over 30 years, and there are comments suggesting that I might feel bad about the indictment news, but that is absolutely not true," adding, "Who said such a thing? Absolutely not."

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

From the night of June 14, when the prosecution non-custodially indicted her, Representative Yoon posted several videos related to Grandmother Gil Won-ok on her Facebook, including 'Words from Grandmother Gil Won-ok,' 'Support for Wednesday Demonstration Participants,' and 'Grandmother Gil Won-ok’s Request.'

This is interpreted as a response to the prosecution’s indictment claim that she exploited Grandmother Gil, who suffers from dementia and mental and physical disabilities, to solicit donations for the Justice and Memory Foundation (Jeonguiyeondae) aimed at resolving the issue of Japanese military sexual slavery.

Representative Yoon stated, "The claim that I deceived a grandmother suffering from severe dementia disregards her mental and physical autonomy," adding, "The prosecution must take responsibility for these allegations that further insult the comfort women victims."

She also said, "I will prove my innocence in court," and "From today, I will resign from all party positions and refrain from exercising any party rights until the charges imposed by the prosecution are cleared."

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