SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s Supreme Court on Thursday handed a suspended prison sentence to a former lawmaker who was found guilty of embezzling funds while leading a group supporting Korean survivors of Japan’s wartime sexual slavery.
Yoon Meehyang, who was also convicted of fraudulently receiving government subsidies and unlawfully collecting donations, didn’t attend the verdict, which confirmed a lower court’s sentence of a year and six months in prison, suspended for three years.
In a statement on Facebook, Yoon described her conviction as “unjust,” saying she and her colleagues handled the group’s funds properly and “had not pursued private interests.”
Yoon’s group, the Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issues of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan, said it plans to return the government subsidies linked to the fraud charges but criticized the court for failing to see the “substantive truth.”
“Despite our efforts over the past four years, we failed to achieve a ‘not guilty’ result with the Supreme Court, but I want to use this opportunity to say once again — my colleagues and I are innocent,” Yoon wrote.
Controversy surrounding Yoon and her group erupted in 2020 when one of the slavery victims, Lee Yong-soo, accused her of misusing donations and other funds and spending little on the victims.
Yoon, who had just begun her term as a lawmaker for the liberal opposition Democratic Party, denied allegations that she and the group used the funds for private gain and insisted that Lee’s claim was based on a misunderstanding.
Historians say tens of thousands of women from around Asia, many of them Korean, were sent to front-line military brothels to provide sexual services for Japanese soldiers. Hundreds were registered with the South Korean government as victims but only eight of them are still alive.
Prosecutors indicted Yoon in September 2020 over embezzlement, fraud and other charges, months before the Democratic Party expelled her over separate suspicions of inappropriate real-estate investments. She finished her four-year term as a legislator last year as an independent.
The Supreme Court upheld a verdict by the Seoul High Court in September last year, which found Yoon guilty of fraudulently obtaining 65.2 million won ($46,300) in government subsidies from 2014 to 2020 by falsely reporting labor costs, and of embezzling 79 million won ($56,150) of the group’s funds.
The court also ruled that Yoon violated laws by collecting donations through unregistered accounts as the group organized the funeral of Kim Bok-dong, a sexual slavery victim and activist who died in 2019.
The issues of sexual slavery, forced labor and other abuses during Japan’s brutal colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula before the end of World War II have long been a source of tensions between Seoul and Tokyo.
FILE - Activist Yoon Meehyang, center left, marches toward the Japanese Embassy during a funeral ceremony of Kim Bok-dong, a former South Korean sex slave, in Seoul, South Korea, on Feb. 1, 2019. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File)
FILE - Activist Yoon Meehyang speaks during a news conference at National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea on May 29, 2020. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man, File)
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Milwaukee Bucks coach Doc Rivers wasn't sure it was a good thing that Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 22 of the team's 24 first-quarter points on Wednesday night.
But Rivers could smile about it after Antetokounmpo finished with 59 points in the Bucks' 127-120 overtime victory against the Detroit Pistons. It was the highest total by any NBA player this season and five short of Antetokounmpo's career high of 64 set last season against the Indiana Pacers.
“I've seen a lot of great games as a player. Sitting next to Dominique (Wilkins) you obviously see a lot of great games," Rivers said, referring to his former Atlanta Hawks teammate. "It's funny how a coach thinks, though. We called a timeout and Giannis has 22 of our 24. This ain't good. I'm thinking the exact opposite. We've got to get somebody else involved in this.
“After the game, you realize how special this is. But during the game you're in a panic."
Antetokounmpo, who made 21 of 34 shots from the field and 16 of 17 free throws while adding 14 rebounds and seven assists, said he is striving to find the right balance as the 4-8 Bucks try to dig out of an early season hole.
They played Wednesday without point guard Damian Lillard, Khris Middleton and forward Bobby Portis because of injuries.
“Coming into this game I realized I have to be aggressive,” Antetokounmpo said. "While I was doing that, it was not working. We were down by 15, 18.
“In the second half, I had to keep my aggressiveness but keep on moving the ball. Now as a leader, you keep on going with that energy and mentality. Sometimes you've got to be able to do both.”
Brook Lopez added 29 points and Taurean Prince, Andre Jackson Jr. and Gary Trent Jr. contribututed to Milwaukee's rally.
Antetokounmpo was whistled for a foul with one second left in regulation and the score tied at 111, but Pistons forward Ron Holland II missed two free throws. That gave the Bucks a reprieve and they took advantage with a quick 8-0 run to open overtime, punctuated by a 3-pointer from Antetokounmpo.
“He has no quit in him,” Lopez said. “Just to be able to watch it the last seven years, to see the way he was tonight. I'm still seeing new stuff.”
Detroit's Isaiah Stewart was called for a flagrant foul 2 and ejected when he tugged Antetokounmpo down by the jersey late in the third quarter. That play proved pivotal as the Bucks outscored the Pistons 38-24 in the quarter and erased an 18-point deficit.
“I've been in that position many times in my life,” Antetokounmpo said. "I have two older brothers that pushed me on the floor, were tough on me. It doesn't really faze me anymore. All I could think about was ‘get up and make two free throws.’
“At the same time it's a dangerous play. It's not a basketball play.”
Antetokounmpo said he gave his teammates a brief speech before the game.
“The first year I came to the Bucks (in 2013-14), we were one of the worst teams in the NBA,” he said. "I was able to get a lot of opportunity and I was able to develop. Guys are missing right now. Instead of thinking Dame's not here, Khris is not here, Bobby is not playing, we should be thinking Andre (Jackson) is going to play, AJ (Green) is going to play.
“Don't take this moment for granted. All you can do is compete and you hope that your teammates follow.”
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo shoots past Detroit Pistons' Jalen Duren during the second half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Detroit Pistons' Isaiah Stewart pulls down Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo during the second half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024, in Milwaukee. Stewart was ejected from the game. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo dunks during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Detroit Pistons Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
