Survivor Lee Yong-soo attends memorial for wartime sexual slavery victims

Lee Yong-soo, a 97-year-old survivor of Japan’s wartime sexual slavery, attended a commemorative ceremony at the Kim Koo Museum & Library in Seoul on Friday to mark the Memorial Day for Victims of Japan’s Military Sexual Slavery.

Lee is one of the five surviving victims and the only survivor currently well enough to speak about her experiences.

Lee first testified as a victim in 1992. For the past three decades, she has worked as a human rights activist, calling for a resolution to the sexual slavery.

Speaking in an interview with Herald Business on Monday, Lee said her greatest wish was for the South Korean government to take a more active role in bringing the Japanese government to the International Court of Justice.

She also called for efforts to ensure that future generations would never forget the history of wartime sexual slavery during Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule of Korea.

“We will ensure that the historical truth behind the Japanese military’s sexual slavery and the values of women’s human rights and peace are unwaveringly passed down to the future generations,” the Minister of Gender Equality and Family Won Min-kyong said at the ceremony.

Lee Yong-soo, a survivor of Japan's wartime sexual slavery, listens to "Spring in My Hometown" at a memorial ceremony at the Kim Koo Museum & Library in Seoul on Friday. (Yoon Chang-bin/The Korea Herald)
Lee Yong-soo (center), survivor of Japan's wartime sexual slavery, salutes to the national flag, alongside the Minister of Gender Equality and Family Won Min-kyong (right) at a memorial ceremony at the Kim Koo Museum & Library in Seoul on Friday. (Yoon Chang-bin/The Korea Herald)
Lee Yong-soo (center), a survivor of Japan's wartime sexual slavery, speaks with the Minister of Gender Equality and Family Won Min-kyong at a memorial ceremony at the Kim Koo Museum & Library in Seoul on Friday. (Yoon Chang-bin/The Korea Herald)
Lee Yong-soo (in wheelchair), a survivor of Japan's wartime sexual slavery, attends a memorial ceremony at the Kim Koo Museum & Library in Seoul with the Minister of Gender Equality and Family Won Min-kyong (right) and Chief of Staff to the President Kang Hoon-sik (pushing Lee), on Friday. (Yoon Chang-bin/The Korea Herald)

Lee Yong-soo (seated), a survivor of Japan's wartime sexual slavery, takes a look at a winning entry of the youth contest on sexual slavery victims, with the Minister of Gender Equality and Family Won Min-kyong (right) and Chief of Staff to the President Kang Hoon-sik on Friday. (Yoon Chang-bin/The Korea Herald)
Lee Yong-soo (in wheelchair), a survivor of Japan's wartime sexual slavery, attends a memorial ceremony at the Kim Koo Museum & Library in Seoul, with the Minister of Gender Equality and Family Won Min-kyong (right) and Chief of Staff to the President Kang Hoon-sik (center) on Friday. (Yoon Chang-bin/The Korea Herald)
A photo shows hands of Lee Yong-soo,  a survivor of Japan's wartime sexual slavery, at a memorial ceremony at the Kim Koo Museum & Library in Seoul on Friday. (Yoon Chang-bin/The Korea Herald)

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