Oh Se-hoon: "Citizen Groups Are Dead"... What Happened to the Removal of the Memory Site Artwork?

Guilty Verdict in First Trial for Sexual Harassment Leads to Removal of Im Ok-sang's Artwork, Justice Network Protests
"Created with Citizen Participation, Condemning Oh Se-hoon's Lack of Communication"
Oh: "Protecting Sexual Harassment Artist... Denying Reason for Existence"

On the 5th, the Seoul Metropolitan Government removed all the sculptures by the minjung artist Im Ok-sang installed at the memorial space for comfort women victims, 'The Place of Memory,' located in Namsan, Jung-gu, Seoul, amid opposition from civic groups.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon criticized organizations such as the Justice and Memory Foundation (Jeonguiyeokdae), saying, "Civic groups are dead. An organization meant to protect victims of Japanese military comfort women opposed the removal of works by an artist who admitted to sexual harassment." The Justice and Memory Foundation and others condemned the removal as hasty, stating, "The history of comfort women is being erased."

Im was indicted on charges of forcibly harassing an employee working at his art research institute in 2013 and was sentenced to six months in prison with a two-year probation in the first trial last month. Accordingly, the city decided to remove five of Im's works installed in municipal facilities. The city stated, "We judged that maintaining and preserving works by an artist who caused social controversy does not align with the purpose of public art, and thus decided to remove them."

On the morning of the 5th, the sculpture "Eyes of the Earth" by artist Im Ok-sang is being dismantled at the Namsan Japanese Military Comfort Women Memorial Site in Jung-gu, Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

On that morning, the city removed two pieces installed at The Place of Memory, 'Eye of the Earth' and 'Navel of the World,' and had already completed the removal of the remaining works. The city originally attempted to remove the works the previous day but postponed the removal by one day due to opposition from civic groups. While criticizing Im's sexual harassment, the Justice and Memory Foundation opposed the removal, stating that the works installed at The Place of Memory were created with donations from citizens.

Following the forced removal, the Justice and Memory Foundation issued a statement condemning Mayor Oh Se-hoon. They criticized, "More than 2,000 citizens and organizations, including the committee promoting the establishment of The Place of Memory, proposed to first create a public forum to record and remember both Im Ok-sang's sexual violence and the history of Japanese military 'comfort women' before any hasty removal, but Mayor Oh Se-hoon ultimately responded with removal."

They added, "We will begin by thoroughly recording and remembering Mayor Oh Se-hoon's wrongdoing in removing The Place of Memory today," and "We condemn Mayor Oh's lack of communication and unilateral decision-making."

Mayor Oh countered that the removal was an appropriate measure and that opposition to the removal was unreasonable. In a Facebook post, he wrote, "An organization meant to protect victims of Japanese military comfort women opposed the removal of works by an artist who admitted to sexual harassment. It is as if they are denying their own reason for existence," and criticized, "Many civic groups, even on the same issue, shield their 'own side's' faults while ruthlessly criticizing the 'opposing side.'"

He continued, "Originally, this was supposed to be about establishing social justice, but it has strayed far from its founding purpose. After years of being soaked in factionalism, it seems they no longer know what common sense is," he criticized.

Mayor Oh said, "Just as a proper labor union movement sprouted to break away from abnormalized unions, a new civic movement viewed through common sense and the eyes of citizens, not factionalism, is needed." He also stated, "After the removal work is completed, we will recreate the sculptures to properly honor the comfort women victims."

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