Wartime sexual slavery victim asks German embassy to preserve 'comfort woman' statue

A wartime sexual slavery victim on Wednesday asked the German Embassy in Seoul to help preserve a "comfort woman" statue erected in Berlin.

Lee Yong-soo, center, a survivor of wartime sexual slavery, enters the Germany Embassy in Seoul on Wednesday to deliver a letter opposing a planned removal of a symbolic statue of a so-called comfort women victim in Berlin. [YONHAP]

A wartime sexual slavery victim on Wednesday asked the German Embassy in Seoul to help preserve a "comfort woman" statue erected in Berlin.

The statue symbolizes the victims of Japan's wartime sexual slavery.

Lee Yong-soo, a 96-year-old victim of the Japanese military's sexual slavery during World War II, made the plea in a news conference held in front of the embassy, saying the Berlin statue should never be removed.

Activists set up the statue in a public place in Berlin's Mitte district in 2020 to internationally publicize the issue of wartime sexual slavery victims euphemistically called "comfort women." The news conference, also attended by pro-comfort women activists, came after Berlin's mayor reportedly hinted at dismantling the statue.

The comfort woman statue erected in many countries worldwide is intended to protect the countries and symbolize world peace without war, Lee said.

Following the news conference, Lee delivered a letter of protest also signed by 173 civic groups and 1,861 citizens to the German Embassy, which says Germany will lose the trust it built in the international community if the statue is removed.

Yonhap