President Lee Jae-myung noted on the 14th, marking the day of remembrance for the Japanese military 'comfort women' victims, "I will do my utmost to ensure that the honor and dignity of the comfort women victims are fully restored." This message emerged amid ongoing political controversy surrounding the pardon of former lawmaker Yoon Mi-hyang, which was included in the recent Liberation Day special pardon.
On this day, President Lee said on Facebook, regarding the 34th anniversary of the public testimony of the late grandmother Kim Hak-soon, a Japanese military comfort women victim, "Her courage awakened the conscience of the international community beyond our country and created a wave of solidarity. She was a beam of light that broke through the dark history, showing that the truth can change the world."
He continued, "This year marks the 80th anniversary of liberation, but the comfort women victims are still not enjoying freedom and peace. Despite the long passage of time, the comfort women issue remains unresolved," adding, "As long as the truth of history is not set right, liberation will not be complete."
President Lee emphasized, "It is a solemn duty given to us living in this era to prevent the same tragedy from being repeated," and promised, "I will certainly create a country where human rights are common sense, peace is a daily occurrence, and justice truly breathes."
At the end of his message, he stated, "I bow my head in respect to the grandmothers who have become beacons of truth and courage," while wishing for the health and peace of six surviving victims, including Lee Yong-soo, Park Pil-geun, Kang Il-chul, and Kim Kyung-ae.
This message from President Lee comes at a time when the opposition is fiercely rebelling against the pardon of former lawmaker Yoon. There are interpretations in the political sphere suggesting that there is an intention to alleviate negative public opinion regarding the pardon by emphasizing the restoration of victims' dignity.
Earlier, President Lee implemented a pardon and restoration of former lawmaker Yoon on Liberation Day. Yoon was sentenced to 1 year and 6 months in prison with 3 years of probation by the Supreme Court on November 14 last year for embezzling funds from the former Justice Memory Solidarity, known as Jeongdaehyeob. The Supreme Court recognized that Yoon had embezzled 79.57 million won in funds and raised funeral expenses for grandmother Kim Bok-dong in her personal account, among other charges, including the illegal use of 65.2 million won in government subsidies. Although Yoon was indicted while serving as a lawmaker, the Supreme Court's ruling came after her term ended.
Immediately after the announcement of the pardon, the People Power Party criticized it as the "worst political pardon that tarnished the significance of the 80th anniversary of liberation," while former lawmaker Yoon wrote "Thank you" on her social media.