Independent Councilor Yun Mi-hyang, who was indicted for embezzling money from the Korean citizens’ group “Solidarity for Justice and Memory,” which addresses the issue of Japanese comfort women, was sentenced to five years in prison by the South Korean prosecutors on appeal.
At the sentencing hearing for Councilor Yun held at the Seoul High Court on March 23, the prosecutors asked the court to “set aside the first-instance verdict and give her the same sentence as the one sought in the first trial.
The prosecutor stated, “I hope that the court will make a cold judgment as to whether collecting donations from many people and using them without supervision or control is in line with the purpose of the law, and whether accepting money from elderly people with severe dementia is lawful, and rule that it is clearly unlawful.
He added, “This case is a prosecution of illegal acts that were confirmed through the investigation of various allegations stemming from the issue of Lee Yong Soo, a victim of comfort women by the Japanese military,” and stressed, “The defendant should have shown himself worthy of the support and expectations of society while running a very important organization. He emphasized that “the defendant should have shown himself worthy of society’s support and expectations while running a very important organization.
In his final statement, Councilor Yun stated, “The comfort women victims met the volunteer corps activists 30 years ago, disclosed their painful experiences to the world, and became the main actors in the movement to restore human rights with dignity, and Ms. Kil Won Ok and Mr. Kim Bok Dong were at the center of this movement,” adding, “The series of events that occurred since the press conference of Ms. Lee Yong Soo three years ago and the media coverage have caused the victims to suffer from the tragedy. The series of events and media reports that have occurred since Lee Yong-soo’s press conference three years ago have undermined the victims’ proactive movement for the restoration of human rights as a non-proactive and passive one dragged down by me, and I have been severely wounded in the attacks,” he countered.
He sobbed, “The price I, my colleagues, and my family paid in the process of becoming a civil activist and then a member of the National Assembly was too great and too deep.
He added, “Of course, I admit that there were shortcomings in the process of activism, and the trial over the past three years has confirmed in my bones that there were problems and mistakes, and I ask for a warm verdict so that I can keep my promise to my grandmothers for the rest of my life after I return to being a citizen in eight months.”
Councilor Yun was indicted in September 2020 for fraudulently receiving more than 360 million won (about 39 million yen) in government subsidies and misappropriating for personal use about 100 million won in patronage money received in personal and corporate accounts.
In February of this year, the first instance court found the prosecution not guilty of most of the indictment facts and found him partially guilty only of business embezzlement and sentenced him to a fine of 15 million won. The appeal hearing against Councilor Yun will be held on September 20.
Reporter Choi Soo-young
Choson.com / Chosun Ilbo Japanese edition
