'Comfort woman' survivor suffers personal insults
Lee Yong-soo, a surviving victim of Japan's wartime sex slavery, speaks during her second news conference held at a hotel in Daegu, May 25. / Yonhap
By Jun Ji-hye
Lee Yong-soo, a surviving victim of Japan's wartime sexual slavery, has been the target of personal insults and ridicule online after holding media conferences where she accused activist-turned-lawmaker, Yoon Mee-hyang, and the civic group led by her of misappropriating funds that were donated to help the victims.
Lee, 92, held two press conferences, May 7 and 25, claiming the Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issues of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan (Korean Council), previously led by Rep. Yoon of the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), had not used any of the public donations for the benefit of the victims.
Since then, a range of personal insults against Lee, which were unrelated to the content of her press conferences, have been posted in online communities including messages that said “The old woman has gone senile” and “She's got dementia.”
Some politicians and celebrities have also made remarks construed as ridiculing Lee.
Prof. Woo Hee-jong of Seoul National University who served as a chairman of the now-defunct Civil Together party said during a radio appearance, “Some of Lee’s memories seem to have been distorted,” apparently indicating that Lee’s remarks need to be verified. The Civil Together party was a satellite of the DPK.
Byun Young-joo, a renowned film director, wrote on her Facebook account, “Old women easily change their stories and minds.”
Byun deleted the comments afterward amid the mounting controversy.
Some online commentators claimed that Lee has attempted to tarnish Yoon out jealously of her becoming a lawmaker, citing the fact that Lee had wanted to pursue a political career in 2012 but abandoned that dream.
The personal insults are raising concern of inflicting further damage on Lee and other victims who already live with the painful memories of being forced by the Japanese military to serve soldiers in brothels before and during World War II.
Prof. Park Yu-ha of Sejong University wrote on her Facebook account, “It might have been very difficult for Lee to decide to hold the press conferences and voice her criticism. People should not suppress her.”
The professor is an author of “Comfort Women of the Empire” published in 2013.
Rep. Ha Tae-keung of the United Future Party also wrote on his Facebook account, “Personal insults against Lee amount to a crime against humanity.”
About 240 Koreans have been registered officially with the government as wartime sex slavery victims. Of them, the number of surviving victims stands at 19, including Lee.