‘Insulting comfort women victims’: Byung-heon Kim questioned by police over suspected illegal fundraising

[Financial News] Byung-heon Kim, head of the National Action for the Abolition of the Comfort Women Act, is being questioned by police on suspicion of illegally soliciting donations. He is standing trial for describing Japanese military comfort women victims as “women engaged in prostitution” and other terms.
According to police on the 26th, the Financial Crime Investigation Unit of the Metropolitan Investigation Unit at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency has been questioning Kim as a suspect since 10 a.m. that day on suspicion of violating the Act on the Regulation of Donations Collection and the Basic Act on Telecommunications.
Kim is suspected of receiving donations through accounts he made public on YouTube and elsewhere without completing the registration process for soliciting donations required by relevant law.
Under the Act on the Regulation of Donations Collection, anyone seeking to solicit donations of 10 million won or more must prepare a plan for their collection and use, among other documents, and register it with the competent authority. Police are reportedly looking into the circumstances surrounding Kim’s fundraising after finding indications that the amount he raised exceeded 10 million won in some years.
Separately, Kim has been indicted and is standing trial on suspicion of posting written material and videos describing three Japanese military comfort women victims as “fake comfort women victims,” “women engaged in prostitution” and “working women,” among other terms. He is also suspected of putting up banners insulting comfort women victims outside Seocho High School in Seocho District and Muhak Girls’ High School in Seongdong District, Seoul, without filing a notice.
Kim was arrested on the 23rd of last month on suspicion of defamation under the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, among other charges. He applied for bail, which the court granted, and has since been released.
[email protected] Choi Seung-han Reporter