South Korean court finds former lawmaker guilty of misusing funds meant for sexual slavery victims

Associated Press

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s Supreme Court has handed a suspended prison sentence to a former lawmaker who was found guilty of embezzling funds while leading a group supporting Korean survivors of Japan’s wartime sexual slavery. Yoon Meehyang, who was also convicted of fraudulently receiving government subsidies and unlawfully collecting donations, didn’t attend the verdict, which confirmed a lower court’s sentence. Yoon has denied the allegations. Historians say tens of thousands of women from around Asia, many of them Korean, were sent to front-line military brothels to provide sexual services for Japanese soldiers. Hundreds were registered with the South Korean government as victims but only eight of them are still alive.