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The Korean Council holds a press conference to clarify its position regarding allegations of misuse of funds on May 11.

The announcement by Lee Yong-su, a 92-year-old Japanese military comfort woman survivor who has played a leading role in campaigning for peace and human rights, that she will no longer be participating in regular Wednesday demonstrations is sending off continued shock waves.

With the Future Korea Party (KFP) continuing to make allegations concerning the use of Wednesday demonstration funds and prior awareness of the 2015 South Korea-Japan comfort woman agreement by recently elected Democratic Party proportional representation lawmaker Yoon Mee-hyang, chairperson of the group Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issues of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan (Korean Council), which organizes the demonstrations, plans to state its position in a press conference on May 11.

The major issues raised by Lee in a press conference on May 7 were twofold. The first concerns the allegation that the Korean Council did not properly provide survivors with support funds raised through the Wednesday demonstrations and other means. An examination of the annual funds raised by the Korean Council over the last four years as announced by the organization on the National Tax Service “Hometax” system showed that it received around 4.9 billion won (US$4.02 million) in donations during the four-year period, including 825 million won (US$676,524) in 2019. The amount used for the category of “victim support project expenses” amounted to around 920 million won (US$754,427) of that total, or around 18.8% of all funds raised.

Some critics are contending that the Korean Council may have used the funds to increase its own influence while ignoring the survivors. But around half of the council’s funds come from “designated donations” with specified purposes -- a fact that is stated in the fundraising information on the group’s website.

The Korean Council’s website lists its fundraising objectives, which include the Wednesday demonstrations and other activities in South Korea and overseas; operation of the Peace House, council activities for survivors’ welfare, support funds for women victimized by sexual assault during wartime, operation of the War and Women’s Human Rights Museum, and related research and studies. The project expenses were allocated in line with these aims: a breakdown of budget allocation for 2018 showed 29.65 million won (US$24,301) used for publicity, 45.5 million won (US$37,293) for commemorative efforts, 13.23 million won (US$10,844) for education, and 7.97 million won (US$6,532) for overseas victims of wartime sexual assault.

“It doesn’t make sense that support funds should only be used to support the survivors,” said a Daegu-area official working on a resolution to the comfort women issue.

“The purposes of the Korean Council’s support funds are specified, and my understanding is that they have been rigorous about managing their funds in anticipation of attacks by conservatives,” the official added.

Kim Yeong-hwan, director of the external cooperation office at the Center for Historical Truth and Justice, said the Korean Council “is a group that has played a role in broadening the issue of victims who had been unable to speak out for themselves within South Korean society into issues concerning wartime sexual violence and the universal campaign for women’s human rights.” According to this position, the council’s activities were never restricted solely to supporting survivors.

Another issue concerns whether recently elected lawmaker Yoon Mee-hyang, who has served as the council’s chair, was aware ahead of time of the specifics of the agreement with the Japanese government reached by the Park Geun-hye administration on Dec. 28, 2015.

In a commentary on May 10, Democratic Party spokesperson Je Youn-kyung said, “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the time made all of the decisions in bureau director-level discussions held with Japan on the afternoon of Deb. 27, without any prior discussions with survivors and related groups concerning the specific agreement content, and it unilaterally notified [former Korean Council president] Yoon Mee-hyang that evening, on the understanding that she would keep a portion of the agreement content confidential.” This account differs from Yoon’s own past claims that she “did not have advance knowledge of content related to the agreement.” Yoon has been vocal in her opposition to the agreement ever since.

In her press conference, Lee Yong-su said, “Only the chair [Yoon] was aware. The survivors should have been notified [about the agreement’s content].”

“If I had known, I would have sent [the billion-yen contribution from Japan] back,” she added. Observers read her message as expressing frustration with Yoon assuming leadership on the decision at the time, even though the two agree in their opposition to the 2015 agreement.

By Kang Jae-gu, staff reporter

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