"Opposition to the Removal of the Berlin Comfort Woman Statue" Online and Offline Efforts to Prevent Dismantling

A girl is sitting next to the 'Statue of Peace' installed in Berlin, the capital of Germany. (Photo by Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-eun] On the 12th, movements to prevent the removal of the 'Statue of Peace' erected in downtown Berlin have emerged both online and offline locally and domestically, following the removal order issued by Berlin authorities in Germany.

On the 9th, a petition titled "The Statue of Peace in Berlin Facing Removal Due to Pressure from the Japanese Government" was posted on the Blue House's national petition board in Korea, and despite still being in the preliminary consent stage, it had received 5,316 signatures by 6:30 a.m. that day.

Additionally, on the 11th, a petition titled "Opposition to the Removal of the Statue of Peace in Berlin" was posted on a local German petition site, and as of 11:30 p.m. that day (local time), 2,347 people had signed it. According to the petition site's tally, except for 70 signatories from Korea, Australia, and the United States, all signatories are residents of Germany and Austria.

The petitioner on the local petition site emphasized, "Despite the clear intention of peaceful coexistence rather than an anti-Japanese movement, the Japanese government pressured the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Berlin Senate, and the Mitte District Office to remove the statue," adding, "It is personally disappointing that Berlin accepted this."

Photo by Kim Yong-min, captured from Facebook of the assemblyman

On social networking services (SNS), hashtag (#) campaigns such as 'Protect the Statue of Peace Berlin' and 'Statue of Peace Berlin' are underway. Kim Yong-min, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, also participated in the campaign and raised his voice against the removal of the Berlin statue through his Facebook page.

Kim So-yeon, wife of former German Chancellor Gerhard Schr?der, lent her support by writing an open letter on her Facebook page addressed to Stefan von Dassel, the mayor of Mitte District, requesting the withdrawal of the removal order together with her husband.

Offline movements to prevent the removal are also expected to continue. According to local sources on the 11th (local time), the Korea Verband, a local Korean civic group that organized the installation of the statue, is scheduled to file an injunction to suspend the execution of the removal order at the Berlin Administrative Court on the 12th. On the 13th, a protest rally involving local citizens and Korean residents is also planned near the Statue of Peace.

At the end of last month, after the Japanese government officially raised issues regarding the Statue of Peace installed in central Berlin, the Mitte District Office issued a removal order on the 7th. The Mitte District Office pointed out that "the inscription targets Japan, giving the impression that Mitte is causing conflict between Korea and Japan and opposing Japan," and stated that if the statue is not voluntarily removed by the 14th, forced removal will proceed. In response, the Japanese side has shown a celebratory atmosphere, calling it a "diplomatic persuasion success," sparking controversy.

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