A South Korean support group for former comfort women has had influence on past governments of that country, casting a shadow over standing issues between Japan and South Korea. The administration of South Korean President Moon Jae-in must correct its relationship with the group and move to review its policy concerning Japan.
Suspicions have arisen that senior officials and others of the influential support group misappropriated government subsidies and donations from the private sector for private purposes. After receiving such complaints, South Korean prosecutors launched an investigation and searched the group's offices.
The advocacy group has been active for 30 years. It touts "respect for women's human rights" and takes a strong anti-Japanese stance. The group holds weekly rallies, persistently demanding that Japan give an official apology and state compensation. In 2011, it set up a statue of a girl symbolizing comfort women in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul.
In Korean society, a one-sided view of history that "Japanese authorities forcibly recruited comfort women" has become widespread through education and media reports. There was undoubtedly an atmosphere of public sentiment in which people hesitated to criticize the support group, which stressed such a view.
Prosecutors have taken action to probe the group, which had been virtually untouchable. The public has cast a critical eye on the matter. This is an extremely rare situation. Now that the allegations have emerged, the reality of the group's activities should be uncovered.
The focus of the suspicion is on Yoon Mee-hyang, former director of the group. After leading the group for 15 years from 2005, she won a seat in the National Assembly in a general election in April as a member of the ruling party.
Some former comfort women, who had been with Yoon for a long time, have claimed that the group did not properly use the donations for the former comfort women, and complained that they themselves were "used as much as possible." Yoon has denied the allegations.
A major question is whether the support group has stayed true to former comfort women and properly spoken for them. If the comfort women issue is resolved, the significance of the group's existence will decline. It is not surprising that the group might have differences with former comfort women.
In fact, the two parties were divided over views on the 2015 agreement between Japan and South Korea, which stipulates support measures for former comfort women. The support group insisted that the agreement be scrapped, calling the move "a collusion that betrays the victims." However, more than 70% of surviving former comfort women have received money based on the agreement.
The Moon administration ignored this reality and said that the agreement does not properly reflect the wishes of former comfort women. Moon then worked to water down the agreement by dissolving a foundation to support former comfort women, which had been established by the administration of his predecessor. Japan had contributed 1 billion yen to the foundation.
The Moon administration's handling of the issue has indicated its close ties with the support group. The group is part of the administration's support base, and a former executive of the group was tapped for a senior government post. It cannot be denied that the Moon administration's "victim-centrism" on this issue is actually meant only for a specific civic group.
-- The original Japanese article appeared in The Yomiuri Shimbun on June 5, 2020.
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