Top court upholds sentence on ex-lawmaker who embezzled funds meant for wartime sexual slavery victims

The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a suspended prison sentence for former lawmaker Youn Mee-hyang, who was convicted of embezzling funds donated to help victims of the Japanese military’s wartime sexual slavery.

Former lawmaker Youn Mee-hyang attends her second trial held at the Seoul High Court in southern Seoul on Sept. 20, 2023, after the court convicted her of embezzling donations meant to support victims of the Japanese military's wartime sexual slavery. [NEWS1]

The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a suspended prison sentence for former lawmaker Youn Mee-hyang, who was convicted of embezzling funds donated to help victims of the Japanese military’s wartime sexual slavery.

The top court confirmed the Seoul High Court’s ruling of a one-and-a-half-year prison sentence, suspended for three years, saying that the verdict contained no errors or misinterpretations of legal principles.

Thursday’s ruling came more than four years after Youn, a former independent lawmaker and the former head of the Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance, was brought to trial.

Under Korean law, any lawmaker convicted and sentenced in court is ineligible to remain in office, including those with suspended sentences. However, due to the prolonged trial process, the confirmed sentence against Youn came after she had completed her four-year term as a lawmaker.

Youn was indicted in September 2020 on eight charges, including fraud, embezzlement and breach of trust. She was accused of misappropriating over 100 million won ($71,000) in donations collected from 2011 to 2020, intended to support victims of the Japanese military’s wartime sexual slavery.

Youn was also charged with misappropriating 129 million won in condolence money collected at the funeral of comfort woman survivor Kim Bok-dong in 2019, using it for unrelated purposes, such as supporting civic groups.

Former lawmaker Youn Mee-hyang speaks during a rally against Japan's wartime sexual slavery in Jongno District, central Seoul, on March 8, 2023. [YONHAP]

In the second trial in September last year, the court handed down a suspended sentence and an 80 million won fine, which was heavier than the sentence of a 15 million won fine she received in her first trial in February.

In the first trial, Youn was found guilty of embezzling 17.2 million won.

However, the appellate court later found her guilty of embezzling 79.58 million won in donations and misappropriating condolence money from Kim Bok-dong’s funeral.

Additionally, she was convicted of embezzling 65.2 million won in government funds from the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family.

“Although she was expected to manage the funds collected to support comfort women victims responsibly, she not only failed to meet this obligation but also embezzled the money, causing harm to the citizens who supported the Korean Council,” the lower court said in its ruling in September last year, using a euphemism for victims of Japan's wartime sexual slavery.

“To this day, she has not compensated them for their losses.”

Following the Supreme Court’s decision, the Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance released a statement, saying it "accepts the top court's decision seriously" and will "promptly comply with the ruling" by returning the government subsidies from the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family.

Youn, a longtime activist for comfort women survivors, faced intense scrutiny in May 2020 when Lee Yong-soo, a survivor, publicly accused her of exploiting victims for decades.

At the time, Youn was serving as a proportional lawmaker for the liberal Democratic Party (DP), having been elected to the office just a month earlier.

Following accusations of misappropriating donations and government subsidies, the DP suspended her membership and later expelled her from the party in June 2021.

BY CHO JUNG-WOO [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]