President Lee Jae Myung Blasts Far-Right Group Over 'Absurd' Statue Removal Demands

Historical justice isn't up for debate in the eyes of the South Korean leadership. President Lee Jae Myung took to social media on January 6, 2026, to lambast a far-right civic group for demanding the removal of 'comfort women' statues, calling the act an "absurd" case of defamation.

Defamation Probe Over Wartime Statues

According to Yonhap News, the President posted a report on X confirming that police have launched an investigation into the head of a far-right group. The group allegedly insulted the Statues of Peace—bronze figures symbolizing victims of Japan's wartime sexual slavery—during multiple protest rallies across the nation.

"This is an absurd case of defamation of the deceased," Lee wrote, signaling his administration's intolerance for disparaging those who suffered under colonial rule. The group had reportedly called for the statues' removal while making disparaging remarks about the victims themselves.

The Heavy Weight of 20th Century History

Historians estimate that up to 200,000 women, primarily from Korea, were forced into front-line brothels for Japanese soldiers during World War II. Korea was under Japanese colonial rule from 1910 to 1945, a period that remains a central friction point in East Asian geopolitics.

While the South Korean government has renewed calls for Japan to squarely acknowledge these wartime atrocities, internal divisions persist. Recent legal victories for victims' families against Japan have bolstered historical justice advocates, but far-right revisionism continues to spark domestic controversy.