Representative Kim Byung-heon, who led a protest movement to remove comfort women statues and was called "this imbecile" by the Blue House, holds a press conference. [Photo=Kim Byung-heon's Facebook]

Representative Kim Byung-heon, who led a protest movement to remove comfort women statues and was called "this imbecile" by the Blue House, holds a press conference. 

The civic group "Citizens' Action for the Repeal of the Comfort Women Law" (Representative Kim Byung-heon) announced that it will hold a press conference on the 4th, between 2 PM and 3 PM, at the fountain plaza in front of the Blue House in Seoul, to "Demand an Apology from the President."

This press conference is intended as a protest against the recent remarks made by the Blue House and the subsequent enforcement of public authority.

In a statement released via social media, Representative Kim Byung-heon stated, "The President insulted my character with expressions such as 'this imbecile,' and I suffered unjust human rights abuses during the police search and seizure."

He further asserted, "I merely informed the truth about comfort women, not insulted them," adding, "All I did was demand the removal of the statue of a girl, which is a symbol of a comfort women fraud that has been ongoing for 36 years."

Representative Kim stated emphatically, "Among the 240 so-called 'Japanese military comfort women' victims currently registered with the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family (formerly Ministry of Health and Welfare), not a single woman was forcibly mobilized by the Japanese military. The comfort women issue is a monstrous, unprecedented fraud perpetrated by Justice for the Comfort Women (Jeonguiyond) and the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, who have deceived the public and the international community by using pitiful elderly women."

A Statue of Peace covered with a "Demolition" mask at Jecheon Uibyeong Plaza. [Photo=Kim Byung-heon's Facebook]

The Statue of Peace, which was installed in the Mitte district of Berlin, Germany, was forcibly removed on October 17, 2025, by administrative order from the local government and a court ruling. [Photo=Yonhap News] 

Regarding the movement to remove the comfort women statues, he emphasized, "The statues of peace, which reflect the sculptor's misguided perceptions and anti-Japanese animosity, have been installed in 156 locations domestically and over 30 overseas. Additionally, hundreds of statues of peace in various shapes and sizes are installed in elementary, middle, and high schools nationwide, including Muhak Girls' High School and Seocho High School." He stressed, "These statues installed on school grounds are non-educational artworks that hinder the proper emotional development of students."

Prominent figures from conservative academia who have aligned with Representative Kim on the comfort women issue and interpretations of modern and contemporary history are scheduled to offer their support at the press conference. These include: △Lee Young-hoon, former professor at Seoul National University △Ryu Seok-chun, former professor at Yonsei University △Lee Woo-yeon, researcher at Nakseongdae Economic Research Institute △Dr. Joo Ik-jong, director of Syngman Rhee Institute.

Below is the full text of the statement Representative Kim posted on social media.

On January 6, 2026, President Lee Jae-myung, while visiting China, linked a JoongAng Ilbo article titled ("Comfort Women were Prostitutes"... Man Who Perpetrated 'Statue of Peace Terror' Nationwide) on social media and wrote, "This imbecile... It is defamation of a deceased person."

The media picked up on this, churning out articles criticizing me with sensational expressions such as 'Statue of Peace Terrorist,' 'Comfort Women Hate Demonstration,' and 'Insult to the Statue of Peace.'

Accusations of Guilt and Stigmatization Abound

Subsequently, on January 7, the National Police Agency issued a press release titled 'Strict Response to Illegal Acts Against Comfort Women Victims.'

The press release listed various unconfirmed criminal allegations against me, including 'vandalism of a statue of peace,' 'dissemination of distorted facts,' 'infringement of learning rights,' and 'unreported illegal assembly.'

Immediately afterward, the National Investigation Headquarters of the National Police Agency designated Seocho Police Station as the 'Intensive Investigation Station' for my case and declared its intent to conduct a thorough investigation, applying charges such as defamation of a deceased person and insult.

In this series of events, the principle of presumption of innocence, guaranteed by the Constitution, has vanished, replaced by widespread accusations of guilt and stigmatization of criminals.

Following the President's chilling warning, the National Police Agency responded swiftly, and the broadcast and print media amplified and reproduced it. I was instantly reduced to a criminal who had committed various offenses.

Furthermore, on the 19th, my property was searched and seized. Relatives, as well as acquaintances I hadn't heard from in a long time, began calling with worried inquiries after hearing the news.

Especially my family, gripped by fear and dread due to the constant reports of strict punishment, uniformly urged me to stop my activities.

Although I vehemently argued that I had done nothing wrong, they pleaded with me to stop, asking what use my claims were when the President and the Commissioner of Police had specifically pointed fingers at me.

Intimidation of Ordinary Citizens Using the Highest Position and Public Authority

However, I have no intention of yielding to the intimidation by the President and the National Police Agency. Instead, I demand an apology from the President, who used his highest position and power to intimidate an ordinary citizen's pursuit of truth and plunged my family into a state of terror.

This is because I have never committed 'defamation of a deceased person' as the President claimed, nor have I committed any of the offenses mentioned in the National Police Agency's press release.

Furthermore, I merely informed the truth about comfort women, and did not insult them. All I did was demand an end to the comfort women fraud that has been ongoing for 36 years and the removal of the statue of a girl, which is a symbol of this fraud.

I assert unequivocally that the comfort women issue, which began in the early 1990s and has continued for 36 years, is a terrifying, unprecedented fraud perpetrated by Jeonguiyond and the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, who have deceived the public and the international community by using pitiful elderly women with comfort women histories.

As the Supreme Court ruled in 1966, "In everyday language, a comfort woman refers to a woman who engages in prostitution" (Supreme Court Case 66 Da 1635, 1636). Thus, 'comfort woman' is another name for a sex worker.

To travel abroad for the purpose of operating as a Japanese military comfort woman, they had to sign a contract with a pimp and obtain a certificate of identity from the competent police station.

Even after obtaining the certificate of identity and arriving in places like Shanghai, they had to submit their family register, parental consent letter, seal certificate, comfort woman business application, individual comfort woman investigation report, and two photographs to the local consulate's police station to obtain a license to operate as a comfort woman.

Numerous documents related to military comfort stations, collected and organized by the Northeast Asian History Foundation, a national research institution under the Ministry of Education, attest to this.

Meanwhile, Article 2, Clause 1 of the "Act on the Recognition, etc., of Comfort Women Victims" defines a 'comfort woman victim of the Japanese military' as "a victim who was forcibly mobilized by the Japanese Imperial forces and forced to live as a comfort woman while enduring sexual abuse."

Here, Jeonguiyond and the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family specify the Japanese Imperial forces as 'Japanese military' and define 'forcible mobilization' as "being taken by means of job fraud, enticement, kidnapping, abduction, or human trafficking." In other words, the prerequisite for being a 'comfort woman victim of the Japanese military' is 'forcible mobilization by the Japanese military.'

Not a Single Woman Was Forcibly Mobilized by the Japanese Imperial Forces

However, among the 240 so-called 'Japanese military comfort women' victims currently registered with the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, not a single woman was forcibly mobilized by the Japanese military. This is the core of the comfort women fraud that Jeonguiyond and the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family are hiding.

Despite this reality, Jeonguiyond and the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family are deceiving the public and the international community by misrepresenting women who were sex workers before the liberation in 1945 as victims of war crimes who were forcibly taken by the Japanese military and endured horrific lives.

Furthermore, even the Ministry of Education is instilling distorted and fabricated perceptions of comfort women in the younger generation through textbooks and various reference materials, teaching them to hate neighboring countries from an early age.

For example, the current elementary school social studies textbook (5-2) states, "The Japanese Imperial forces mobilized women as Japanese military comfort women by deceiving them with job offers or by posting recruitment advertisements without clearly stating the nature of the work, and also by forcibly taking them through threats, violence, and kidnapping (Kim Yeongsa, p. 134)." The high school Korean history textbook 2 states, "The victims were forced to endure horrific lives, including beatings, torture, and sexual violence. Some of them were even massacred by the Japanese military to conceal their anti-humanitarian crimes (Donga Publishing, p. 55)." These are lies that could not and did not happen.

This distortion and fabrication of the reality of comfort women are also reflected in the so-called 'Statue of Peace,' a symbol of comfort women.

In her artist's note, the sculptor of the statue stated her motivation for creation as wanting to "remember the horrific history of the Japanese colonial era, when young girls and women of Joseon were deceived or forcibly taken to the battlefield and made sex slaves, and even brutally murdered without hesitation."

As such, statues of peace, reflecting the sculptor's misguided perceptions and anti-Japanese animosity toward comfort women, have been installed in 156 locations domestically and over 30 overseas. Additionally, hundreds of statues of peace in various shapes and sizes are installed in elementary, middle, and high schools nationwide, including Muhak Girls' High School and Seocho High School.

The problem lies in the fact that these statues of peace installed on school grounds are non-educational artworks that hinder the proper emotional development of students.

Current Comfort Women Education is a Lie that Ignores the Truth

If a teacher were to honestly inform students about comfort women in front of the statue of peace, they would have to state that comfort women were sex workers and explain accompanying matters such as their earnings, condoms, and management of venereal diseases.

In addition, they would also have to read aloud the vivid testimonies of comfort women, akin to pornography, contained in the eight volumes of comfort women testimonials published by Jeongdaehyeop.

Otherwise, they would ultimately have to lie, stating that "Comfort women were victims of war crimes who were forcibly taken by the Japanese military, sexually assaulted, and even murdered." Unfortunately, all current comfort women education falls into the latter category.

The statues of peace, produced and installed based on such false information, have long become a significant obstacle that creates conflict and confrontation between factions, fosters anti-Japanese animosity, and leads to the ruin of Korea-Japan relations.

Therefore, since 2019, myself and other anti-comfort women movement forces have consistently advocated for the cessation of the comfort women fraud and the removal of the statues of peace.

In response to these activities, the political sphere and media, capitalizing on anti-Japanese sentiment, have collectively attacked us. Finally, in response to our truthful voices and actions, they have announced a strict investigation by designating an 'Intensive Investigation Station.' All of this began with a single word from the President, leading to absurd events.

Therefore, I, the person directly addressed by the President on social media, make the following two demands of the President. First, please confirm whether any of the 240 registered so-called 'Japanese military comfort women' victims were taken by the Japanese military through methods such as 'job fraud, enticement, kidnapping, abduction, or human trafficking.' 

If not even one person was, please acknowledge that the "Act on the Recognition, etc., of Comfort Women Victims" is a defunct law with no applicable subjects and allow for a comprehensive reinvestigation.

Second, since the President stated 'defamation of a deceased person,' please specify precisely whose honor I have allegedly damaged among the deceased comfort women.

If you cannot identify the individuals, it means the President publicly criticized an innocent ordinary citizen as an 'imbecile' without any basis and caused both me and my family to live in fear of investigation and punishment. I demand a public apology for this matter.

Kim Byung-heon, Representative of Citizens' Action for the Repeal of the Comfort Women Law

Representative Kim Byung-heon, who led a protest movement to remove comfort women statues and was called "this imbecile" by the Blue House, holds a press conference.