Mainichi Newspapers
The Seoul High Court ruled on June 20 that Yoon Mi-hyang, 58, an independent member of the National Assembly, is guilty of embezzlement in connection with the alleged misappropriation of donations from the “Justice and Memory Solidarity for the Resolution of the Japanese Military Sexual Slavery Issue,” a citizens’ group that supports former Korean comfort women. The Seoul High Court ruled that the defendant should be fined. The Seoul High Court reversed the first instance judgment, which ordered the defendant to pay a fine of 15 million won (approximately 1.65 million yen), and sentenced him to one year and six months in prison, with a three-year suspended sentence.
If convicted of more than imprisonment, including a suspended sentence, the legislator will lose his position. After the ruling, Yun expressed his intention to appeal the decision, saying, “I will do my best to once again prove my innocence and ensure that my 30-year campaign to resolve the comfort women issue is not undermined.
The ruling found that 130 million won (about 14.5 million yen) collected in the name of condolence money for former comfort women was a violation of the Donated Goods Law. The court also noted that he transferred funds from the former Para-Taisho Kyokai’s account to his personal account, thereby managing money that was originally intended for support of former comfort women and their bereaved families in his own account. He also said, “I made it impossible to distinguish between public and private use. If he could not provide a satisfactory explanation, he would be considered to have used the money for personal use.
The first trial court ruled that the majority of the allegations were not proven, and found only about 17 million won to be embezzlement. Motomi Kusakabe, Seoul
