Justice Network Strongly Urges Japan's Suga Government to Resolve Comfort Women Issue

Lee Na-young, Chairperson of the Justice Memory Solidarity, is speaking at the '1457th Regular Wednesday Demonstration for the Resolution of the Japanese Military Sexual Slavery Issue' held on the 16th in front of the former Japanese Embassy in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] The Justice and Memory Foundation (Jeonguiyeondae) held the 1,457th regular Wednesday demonstration on the 16th in front of the former Japanese Embassy in Jongno-gu, Seoul. This was the first Wednesday demonstration held since Yoon Mee-hyang, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea (former director of Jeonguiyeondae), who is accused of embezzling Jeonguiyeondae’s accounting and donations, was indicted without detention.

At the Wednesday demonstration, Lee Na-young, director of Jeonguiyeondae, stated, "Only by sincerely confronting the issue of Japanese military comfort women can the path to peace and coexistence between Korea and Japan be opened," and added, "I hope that the prosecution and media of the Republic of Korea will not become obstacles to history by taking zigzag steps that cannot even distinguish whether it is an anti-historical act at this critical crossroads of the post-Abe era."

She continued, "The new Prime Minister Suga reiterated the Abe administration’s stance that the Korea-Japan Claims Agreement is the foundation of Korea-Japan relations," and urged, "We call on the Japanese Suga government to show progress toward resolving the issue, even if only one step closer."

Jeonguiyeondae also disclosed a handwritten note from Grandmother Lee Yong-soo on the same day. The note included the content, "I believe that the demand for the removal of the Statue of Peace, which symbolizes the resolution of world history and human rights issues, can never be accepted," and "The Statue of Peace represents the grief and sorrow of the victims and is the heart of education for future generations."

The Wednesday demonstration, conducted in the form of a press conference, was attended only by a small number of officials from the organizing group Heungsadan and Jeonguiyeondae. Recently, due to concerns over the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), Jeonguiyeondae has been holding Wednesday demonstrations with a minimal number of participants and broadcasting them live online. Nearby the demonstration site, conservative groups such as the Liberty Solidarity also held press conferences simultaneously.

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