Police Request Arrest Warrant for Civic Group Leader over 'Comfort Women Insult'

Charged with Defamation of the Deceased and Other Offenses

The police have moved to take custody of the leader of a far-right conservative organization who stirred controversy by staging protests insulting the comfort women.

According to the police on March 16, the Seocho Police Station in Seoul has requested an arrest warrant for Kim Byungheon, the head of the National Campaign to Abolish the Comfort Women Law, on charges of violating the Information and Communications Network Act, the Child Welfare Act, and defamation of the deceased.

Kim Byungheon, the leader of the National Campaign to Abolish the Comfort Women Law, who is accused of holding protests insulting the victims of Japanese military 'comfort women,' appeared at the Seocho Police Station in Seoul last February as a suspect and responded to reporters' questions. Photo by Yonhap News

Kim is accused of displaying banners with phrases such as "Are you guiding students toward prostitution by erecting comfort woman statues on school grounds?" in front of Seocho High School in Seocho-gu and Muhak Girls' High School in Seongdong-gu, Seoul, in December of last year.

The police determined that Kim subjected students to "emotional abuse" by exposing them to banners containing sensational and explicit language. It was also reported that the risk of reoffending is high, as Kim continued to post insulting comments on social media calling comfort women victims "prostitutes" even after the police investigation began.

Since February 2024, Kim has visited peace statues nationwide and staged protests by placing masks labeled "demolition" or covering the statues with black bags. Although Kim announced plans to stop protesting after the police investigation intensified, he has since filed a report to resume rallies in front of the former Japanese Embassy in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on March 25.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.