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In the process of the South Korean government reaching an agreement on the comfort women with Japan in 2015, Rep. Yoon Mi-hyang, who was then the representative of the Justice and Memory Alliance, has argued that the contents of the agreement were not properly communicated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that it met and discussed with Rep. Yoon four times today, and released a document that recorded the interview.
Rep. Yoon’s side requested the full disclosure of the document, saying that although contact was made, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not disclose the contents of the humiliating agreement such as the statue of a girl.
This is reporter Seo Hye-yeon.
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This document was made public when the Ministry of Foreign Affairs abandoned the appeal of the information disclosure lawsuit.
It contains the contents of an interview with Rep. Yoon Mi-hyang, who was then the representative of the Justice and Memory Coalition at the time, four times in 2015 by the director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
On December 27, the day before the agreement, the title was explaining the details of the Japanese government’s sense of responsibility, Prime Minister Abe’s direct apology, and the contribution of the Japanese government’s budget of 1 billion yen.
[구충서/한반도 인권과 통일을 위한 변호사 모임 변호사]
“I explained it four times in advance, asked what my opinion was, and all were gathered, and the day before, I met Yoon Mi-hyang once more and detailed the details of the agreement…”
However, in the document, the contents of what was actually delivered and the reaction of CEO Yoon Mi-hyang at the time were all hidden.
Regarding the reason for the release of the document, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, “I hope that the facts will be revealed so that the controversy will end and the people’s right to know will be realized.”
Rep. Yoon has argued that it is true that he had contacted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but only received part of the agreement.
[윤미향/무소속 의원(2020년 5월 12일 당시)]
“I’ve never heard of the girl statue being demolished. I’ve never heard of an irreversible solution.”
Even following the document was released, Rep. Yoon rebutted once more, saying, “I have not explained any humiliating agreements such as the final and irreversible resolution of the comfort women issue and efforts to resolve the issue of the statue of a girl.”
On the contrary, it became clear that Assemblyman Yoon did not disclose the contents of the non-disclosure agreement before the announcement.
In 2017, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs TF also concluded that “in 2015, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not specifically inform victims’ groups regarding the measures that the Korean side should take, such as a final and irreversible resolution.”
Although some of the contents of the document have been revealed, it seems that the truth workshop will continue as most of it has been hidden.
This is Seo Hye-yeon from MBC News.
Video coverage: Kim Doo-young / Video editing: Bae Soo-jin
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