Court Dismisses Donation Refund Lawsuit Against 'Comfort Women' Nanum House

On the 25th, when the second press conference of grandmother Lee Yong-soo, a victim of the Japanese military sexual slavery, was held, Nanum House in Gwangju, Gyeonggi-do was quiet. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] Donors who filed a lawsuit to reclaim donations against the comfort women victim support organization 'Nanum-ui Jip' lost in the first trial.

On the afternoon of the 20th, Judge Park Jinsu of Civil Division 68 at the Seoul Central District Court dismissed all claims made by about 50 donors who filed the first and second lawsuits against the social welfare corporation 'Daehan Buddhist Jogye Order Nanum-ui Jip' demanding the return of donations. The court also ordered the plaintiffs to bear the litigation costs.

Kim Kiyoon, the lawyer representing the donors, said, "We will review whether to appeal after receiving the judgment," but added, "I sincerely hoped and worked hard for this ruling to be the starting point to correct the wrong practices in our country so far, but it was dismissed, which is very disappointing." He continued, "I also feel that Nanum-ui Jip's attitude has changed a lot through this lawsuit. I hope more support will be provided to the grandmothers."

One plaintiff who participated in the lawsuit said, "It is very regrettable to receive such a result without the related suspicions being clearly revealed. The wrong parts should be corrected quickly so that support for the grandmothers, for which donors collected funds little by little, can be provided as intended," adding, "Regardless of the loss, I plan to visit the grandmothers residing there."

Earlier, the 'Comfort Women Grandmothers Donation and Support Fund Return Lawsuit Countermeasure Group' filed lawsuits three times between June and August 2020. The first lawsuit involved 23 donors claiming about 50 million won against Nanum-ui Jip. The second lawsuit involved 29 participants claiming about 34 million won.

The lawsuit filed against Yoon Mihyang, an independent lawmaker and former chairperson of the Justice and Memory Foundation (Jeonguiyeon), the predecessor of the Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issues of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan (Jeongdaehyeop), is known to have separated pleadings and has not yet been adjudicated. The third lawsuit is being separately conducted at the Seoul Western District Court.

The controversy over the misuse of donations by Nanum-ui Jip and Jeonguiyeon was triggered in May 2020 when grandmother Lee Yong-soo (94), a victim of Japanese military sexual slavery, revealed that "Jeonguiyeon never used the donations and funds for the grandmothers."

Numerous errors and omissions in the total amounts were confirmed in the National Tax Service disclosure data of Jeonguiyeon and Jeongdaehyeop, and suspicions were raised that Jeonguiyeon purchased the comfort women victims' shelter (Anseong Shelter) built in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province in 2013 at a price higher than the market value.

In September 2020, lawmaker Yoon was indicted on charges of illegally receiving government subsidies and privately using donations by collecting them into a personal account, and the first trial is currently underway at the Seoul Western District Court.

Independent lawmaker Yoon Mi-hyang [Image source=Yonhap News]

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