South Korean far-right group leader indicted for defaming wartime sex slave victims

A South Korean court has indicted the leader of a far-right civic group and other members on charges of defaming victims of Japanese wartime sexual slavery. Kim Byong-heon, the representative of the "Comfort Women Abolition National Action" group, is accused of calling a victim a "professional woman" and a "fake comfort woman" during protests in December 2021.

Prosecutors also charged Kim with defaming the "Justice for Peace" organization, accusing him of falsely claiming it deceived the public for 30 years about the forced mobilization of comfort women. Four other individuals, including the heads of "Mom's Army" and "Free Solidarity," were also indicted on similar charges. Three other civic group leaders face summary indictments, a procedure for lighter penalties without a full trial.

Kim is currently on trial for defamation and spreading false information, having posted articles and videos on Facebook and YouTube between January 2024 and January 2025 that referred to three comfort women victims as "fake comfort women." The prosecution stated it would "sternly deal with offenders who maliciously defame and spread false information about the victims of Japanese military sexual slavery."

However, prosecutors decided not to indict Kim and others for criticizing the "Justice for Peace" organization in relation to a separate embezzlement case involving a former executive. They deemed this criticism as an expression of opinion.

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We will sternly deal with offenders who maliciously defame and spread false information about the victims of Japanese military sexual slavery.