Court orders House of Sharing to return donations kept as corporate reserves
Published: 13 Oct. 2025, 10:42
Updated: 13 Oct. 2025, 18:30
![A citizen places hand-knitted camellia flower necklaces on the busts of victims of Japanese military sexual slavery at the House of Sharing in Gwangju, Gyeonggi, on Aug. 14, International Memorial Day for Japanese Military “Comfort Women.” [NEWS1]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/10/13/ae32dbc4-935c-4123-87e2-2500c1e4a21a.jpg)
A citizen places hand-knitted camellia flower necklaces on the busts of victims of Japanese military sexual slavery at the House of Sharing in Gwangju, Gyeonggi, on Aug. 14, International Memorial Day for Japanese Military “Comfort Women.” [NEWS1]
A court has ordered the House of Sharing, a shelter for victims of Japanese wartime sexual slavery, to return a portion of donated funds it kept as corporate reserves instead of using them to support victims.
The Seoul Central District Court ruled on Sept. 24 partially in favor of a donor surnamed Lee, who filed a lawsuit demanding the return of their donation, according to the legal community on Sunday. The decision came in a retrial following a Supreme Court remand.
The court ordered the House of Sharing to pay Lee 1.55 million won ($1,100) plus interest, noting that Lee had donated under the belief that the money would be used for the welfare, living expenses and advocacy activities of the victims.
“Although the defendant [House of Sharing] argues that it had no intent to misappropriate funds and had unavoidable reasons to reserve most donations, an average donor, including the plaintiff, would not have entered into the donation agreement had they known most of the funds would be reserved by the corporation,” the court said.
It added that because the defendant failed to prove that the plaintiff’s misunderstanding was due to gross negligence, Lee was entitled to revoke the donation contract based on the Civil Act, which allows revocation if a significant misunderstanding influenced the agreement.
In the wake of public controversy in May 2020 over the alleged misuse of donations by the House of Sharing and the Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance, donors filed multiple lawsuits between June and August that year, demanding the return of roughly 90 million won in donations.
![Former lawmaker Youn Mee-hyang attends a second trial held at the Seoul High Court in southern Seoul on Sept. 20, 2023, after the court convicted her of embezzling donations meant to support victims of the Japanese military's wartime sexual slavery. [NEWS1]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/10/13/e576e648-3385-4bd8-a7a5-c14de70805c4.jpg)
Former lawmaker Youn Mee-hyang attends a second trial held at the Seoul High Court in southern Seoul on Sept. 20, 2023, after the court convicted her of embezzling donations meant to support victims of the Japanese military's wartime sexual slavery. [NEWS1]
It was revealed that the House of Sharing accumulated donations for years without using them for victim support, instead reserving them for future elderly care business ventures. Critics said that because of this, the victims were forced to pay out of pocket for medical treatment and lacked meaningful support.
Lower courts previously ruled against the plaintiffs. However, in August 2024, the Supreme Court overturned the rulings and sent the case back, citing discrepancies between the stated purpose of the donation contract and the actual use of funds.
The Supreme Court emphasized that the plaintiff’s understanding — that the donation would be used for supporting victims — constituted a key part of the contract, not merely a motivational factor.
While 23 donors originally filed suit, only Lee pursued the case through the Supreme Court, ultimately winning the partial refund.
Separately, a lawsuit against former liberal Democratic Party (DP) lawmaker Youn Mee-hyang, who previously led the Korean Council, is still ongoing. Youn, a longtime activist for comfort women survivors, faced intense scrutiny in May 2020 when Lee Yong-soo, a survivor, publicly accused her of exploiting victims for decades.
![Lee Yong-soo, center, a 97-year-old victim of wartime sexual enslavement by the Japanese military, attends a ceremony to mark International Memorial Day for Comfort Women held in Seoul on Aug. 14. [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/10/13/d34335c1-60eb-4333-9389-1de678f7ac92.jpg)
Lee Yong-soo, center, a 97-year-old victim of wartime sexual enslavement by the Japanese military, attends a ceremony to mark International Memorial Day for Comfort Women held in Seoul on Aug. 14. [YONHAP]
Youn was indicted in September 2020 on eight charges, including fraud, embezzlement and breach of trust. She was accused of misappropriating over 100 million won in donations collected from 2011 to 2020.
Youn was also charged with misappropriating 129 million won in condolence money collected at the funeral of comfort woman survivor Kim Bok-dong in 2019, using it for unrelated purposes, such as supporting civic groups.
At the time, Youn was serving as a proportional lawmaker for the DP, having been elected to the office just a month earlier. Following accusations of misappropriating donations and government subsidies, the DP suspended her membership and later expelled her from the party in June 2021.
In January, the Seoul Western District Court recommended a settlement requiring Youn to return the donations, but Youn appealed the recommendation, and the case remains in trial.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY HAN YOUNG-HYE [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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