“Comfort women” survivor dies at 92

Posted on : 2021-05-04 17:03 KST Modified on : 2021-05-04 17:04 KST
Her death leaves a total of 14 “comfort women” survivors
A survivor of military sexual slavery identified by the surname Yun died on Sunday. (provided by the Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issues of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan)
A survivor of military sexual slavery identified by the surname Yun died on Sunday. (provided by the Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issues of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan)

Another victim of sexual slavery by the Japanese military died Sunday at the age of 92.

Her death leaves a total of 14 surviving victims of Japanese military sexual slavery registered with the South Korean government.

Born in 1929 in North Chungcheong Province, Yun was forced into a truck with her aunt and taken to Japan in 1941, at the age of 12, after fighting back against a Japanese soldier who was assaulting her grandfather.

For around three years, she worked at a textile factory in Shimonoseki before being taken to Hiroshima and forced into sexual slavery.

After Korea’s liberation, Yun returned to Busan. She was registered with the South Korean government in 1993 as a victim of Japanese military sexual slavery. She remained active in efforts to resolve the sexual slavery issue, including participating in Wednesday demonstrations in front of the Japanese embassy in Seoul and sharing accounts of her experience with overseas audiences.

“In accordance with her wishes and those of her surviving family, the funeral will be taking place in private,” said the Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issues of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan.

Minister of Gender Equality and Family Chung Young-ai said, “It pains me deeply to say goodbye to another victim of the Japanese military ‘comfort women’ system.”

“I hope that she will rest in peace now,” she added.

Chung also announced plans to “increase policy support so that the Japanese military comfort women survivors can enjoy a healthy and comfortable life, while actively pursuing efforts to restore their honor and dignity.”

Yun’s death means that just 14 women survive among the 240 victims of Japanese military sexual slavery registered with the South Korean government.

By Lee Woo-yun, staff reporter

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