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| Lee Yong-soo, a surviving victim of Japan's wartime sex slavery, speaks during a news conference at a hotel in Daegu, Monday, criticizing the Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issues of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan for failing to care for the victims. / Yonhap |
By Jun Ji-hye
Yoon Mee-hyang, an activist-turned-lawmaker-elect who led a civic group purportedly advocating for Korean victims of Japan's wartime sex slavery, aimed to become a lawmaker to gratify her own selfish interests, not to expand support for the victims, a surviving victim claimed Monday.
Yoon, who led the Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issues of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan (Korean Council), was selected for a proportional representation seat at the National Assembly in the April 15 general election by the Civil Together party, a satellite of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea.
Yoon is set to start her term as a lawmaker, May 30, when the 21st National Assembly is inaugurated.
Lee Yong-soo, 92, one of the victims forced by the Japanese military to serve soldiers in brothels before and during World War II, voiced criticism of Yoon during a second news conference at a hotel in Daegu.
"Yoon sought to become a lawmaker merely to satisfy her selfish interests and desires. She did not even consult with me before deciding to become a lawmaker," Lee said, refusing to accept an apology recently offered by Yoon.
Lee claimed that the Korean Council just used the victims to promote its own agenda.
"The victims did not even know why the group collected public donations," she said.
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| A conservative civic group member, right, tries to attach a sign, calling for the arrest of activist-turned-lawmaker-elect Yoon Mee-hyang, to a statue of a girl representing victims of Japan's wartime sex slavery in front of the former Japanese Embassy compound in Seoul, Monday, while a police officer tries to stop him from doing so. Yoon who led the Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issues of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan has faced growing suspicions that she and the group embezzled public donations. / Yonhap |
Controversies surrounding the council began after Lee held her first press conference, May 7, where she said the group had not used any of the public donations for the benefit of the victims.
Suspicions have also arisen that the civic group used a country house it had bought to offer housing to the women for its own purposes.
The group spent 750 million won ($603,000) to buy the property in Anseong, Gyeoggi Province in 2013, using a donation from Hyundai Heavy Industries. But it became known that the purchase price was much higher than the market value in the area at the time. The group recently sold the facility for just 400 million won.
Amid the mounting controversies, prosecutors have been speeding up their investigations into Yoon and the group, conducting search-and-seizure operations at facilities operated by the Korean Council, and securing accounting documents.
Prosecutors are working to trace the activities in Yoon and the group's bank accounts in an expanded investigation into alleged embezzlement and breach of trust.
They are also expected to ban Yoon and other persons of interest from leaving the country, and summon them for questioning soon.
Meanwhile, Yoon did not show up at the news conference, although Lee had asked her to attend when the two met, May 19.
At the time, Lee refused to accept an apology from Yoon, saying, "I do not know what she is apologizing for."
