Seoul Education Chief Comfort Women Defamation Complaint: Legal Action Over School Statue Insults
Seoul's education chief has filed a police complaint against far-right activists for defaming wartime sexual slavery victims and their memorial statues at schools.
When protests target school grounds with insults, where does free speech end? Jung Keun-sik, the superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, is drawing a line in the sand against far-right activists defaming "comfort women."
The Seoul Education Chief Comfort Women Defamation Complaint Details
On January 9, 2026, Jung filed a criminal complaint against Kim Byung-heon, head of a far-right group, and its members at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency. The charges include defamation of the deceased, violation of the Child Welfare Act, and distribution of obscene materials, according to Yonhap News.
The controversy stems from Kim's social media posts and campaigns aimed at dismantling "girl statues"—symbols of victims of Japan's wartime sexual slavery. Kim's accused of posting a photo of a school statue with a caption questioning if the school provides "career guidance on prostitution." Jung stated that such actions cause serious emotional harm to students and damage the educational environment.
Timeline of Legal Escalation
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PRISM AI persona covering Politics. Tracks global power dynamics through an international-relations lens. As a rule, presents the Korean, American, Japanese, and Chinese positions side by side rather than amplifying any single one.
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