Daegu City Provides New Home for 'Comfort Women' Victim Grandmother Lee Yong-soo

Moving from an 11-pyeong Public Rental Apartment to a 25-pyeong Private Apartment

The photo shows grandmother Lee Yong-soo, a victim of the Japanese military sexual slavery, leaving the courtroom after testifying as a witness at the final hearing of the lawsuit against the Japanese government at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on November 11 last year.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Dong-wook] Daegu City announced on the 5th that it has prepared a new home for Grandmother Lee Yong-soo, a victim of the Japanese military comfort women, in an apartment in Suseong-gu.

Grandmother Lee Yong-soo is scheduled to move into this apartment, which was completely remodeled right after the Lunar New Year holiday.

At the age of 16 in 1944, she was taken to Taiwan and forced to live as a comfort woman. Since registering as a Japanese military comfort woman in 1993, she has actively worked both domestically and internationally to establish a correct historical understanding of the Japanese military comfort women issue.

Until now, Grandmother Lee Yong-soo had been living in a small and old public rental apartment (39.6㎡) in Sangin-dong, Dalseo-gu, which was completed 28 years ago. According to Daegu City, it was inconvenient for domestic and international visitors to meet her there, and there was no space for caregivers or volunteers to stay.

Especially after the press conference in May last year, due to the psychological burden from heightened public interest, she left the public rental apartment where she had been living and temporarily resided somewhere in the city, experiencing inconveniences in daily life.

Daegu City revised related ordinances in September last year to provide housing support so that Grandmother Lee can spend her later years healthily and comfortably, securing a budget of 400 million won.

Subsequently, Daegu City and the Citizens' Group for Grandmothers of the Japanese Military Sexual Slavery prepared an apartment (84.99㎡) within the urban area, about a 10-minute drive from the hospital she visits and the Heeum History Museum.

Currently, there are 16 surviving victims of the Japanese military comfort women nationwide. Most live in poor housing conditions such as public rental housing, shelters, or private homes, and Daegu City is the first local government to rent private apartments to provide residential spaces.

Daegu Mayor Kwon Young-jin said, "I hope Grandmother Lee will continue her activities healthily as a women's human rights activist who spreads the correct historical understanding of the Japanese military comfort women worldwide from her comfortable new home."

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