Lawmakers from the ruling Democratic Party (DP) introduced another controversial bill that will punish people accused of distorting historical facts about the victims of wartime sexual slavery during the Japanese colonial period.
Ten lawmakers, including Rep. In Jae-keun from the DP and independent lawmaker Yoon Mi-hyang, introduced the bill. It would punish people defaming not only the comfort women and their families but also activist groups working on this issue. Yoon was expelled from the DP after it was found out that she was engaged in real-estate speculation. She was the chairwoman of a group that advocated for the rights of comfort women called the Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issues of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan. She is now standing trial over various charges, including embezzling the donations for the women while heading the organization. Yoon allegedly deposited 4.2 billion won ($3.58 million) worth of donations for the women in her private bank account. Conservative politicians are arguing that the bill will send people to prison for publicly airing Yoon Mi-hyang and the Council for Justice’s crimes.
The official term for the bill is an amendment to the Act on Protection, Support and Commemorative Projects for Sexual Slavery Victims for the Japanese Imperial Army. The new bill will punish those who distribute false information through publications, including newspapers, TV, and the internet, by imprisonment for not more than five years or by a fine not exceeding 50 million won ($42,662).
One of the most controversial additions to the act is punishing a person who defames the comfort women, their family members, and civic groups related to the issue by “publicly alleging facts.” This defamation clause is rare in many other developed countries and it’s also a controversial issue in South Korea. It is punishable by criminal law, not just civil law, if a person defames another by saying facts about a certain person or organization. Under the South Korean criminal law, a person who defames another by publicly alleging facts shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than two years or by a fine not exceeding five million won ($4,266).
The South Korean news media has speculated that the public will be banned from criticizing the Council for Justice, which faces various allegations of embezzling donations given to the comfort women. “Under the current law, there is a difficulty in correcting problems [such as false information],” said Rep. In. “There is a need to strongly prohibit people from distributing false information.”
This is not the first time that the ruling party and the leftists have introduced bills that aim to punish people who distort historical facts. However, conservatives believe that their goal is to punish people who interpret history differently from the leftists. For example, the DP recently announced a bill to punish people who distort facts about the March 1st Independence Movement and imperial Japan’s human rights abuses as well as people who praise, incite, or propagate Japanese imperialism. It will also punish people using symbols that represent Japanese imperialism, including the Rising Sun Flag or the Japanese imperial flag. Violators will be punished by imprisonment of no more than 10 years or by a fine not exceeding 200 million won ($177,648).
There are debates among scholars on the role of the Japanese during the colonial period. Leftist historians believe that everything the Japanese did during that time in history was wrong. There are also some historians who argue that it is true that the Japanese did evil acts such as using women as sexual slaves and forced labor, but that historical documents also show that some Koreans voluntarily participated in those activities. Scholars who insist on arguments like the latter can face charges of violating the newly-passed law.
The DP also introduced a bill amending the Special Act on the May 18 Democratization Movement. The bill was passed in December even though some members of the main opposition party opposed it. The bill will punish a person who denies that the May 18 Gwangju incident was a democratization movement with imprisonment of up to five years or by a fine not exceeding 50 million won ($42,662). South Korean leftists call the Gwangju incident a democratization movement, while some conservatives believe that it can be considered a riot, since civilian protestors illegally obtained weapons from a military warehouse.
Chang Young-soo, a professor of constitutional law at Korea University’s School of Law, told the Chosun Ilbo newspaper on August 24 that “history being decided by the government is almost the same as China’s Northeast Project.” The project he’s referring to is a Chinese government research project on the history and current situation of the frontiers of northeastern China that claimed ancient Korean kingdoms in northeastern China were Chinese polities.
“Forcing people to accept artificial values is unconstitutional itself and [the comfort women bill] is a bill that damages the foundation of democracy,” Chang said. Lim Ji-hyun, a professor of history at Sogang University, agreed by arguing that, “the time will now come where judges judge history. Compelling history by using the law is a far-rightist and nationalistic way of thinking.”
Lee Yong-soo, a surviving comfort woman, revealed in May last year that the organization headed by Rep. Yoon embezzled the donated money and did not use it to help the victims. This eventually led to the police investigation, and the prosecution indicted Yoon on charges including embezzlement and professional malpractice.
“Why is the organization included in the bill while they argue that the purpose of the law is to protect the victims?” Lee asked in an interview with the JoonAng Ilbo on Tuesday. “They have never asked the victims’ opinions and they ignored us grandmothers once again.” Lee continued that “Yoon still does not know what she did wrong.”
“How is it defamation when people tell the truth?” she asked. “If the fame is defamed by telling the truth, can we call that fame? And if that is the case, did I violate the law by saying the truth about the Council for Justice? How can they do this?”
The New York Times previously posted an article titled “‘Historical Distortions’ Test South Korea’s Commitment to Free Speech” on July 18, 2021. “President Moon Jae-in’s governing party has rolled out a slate of legislation, some of which has already become law, aimed at stamping out false narratives about certain sensitive historical topics, including Gwangju,” the article read. “But by criminalizing so-called ‘historical distortions,’ he is also stepping into a political minefield.”
