[Herald Economy reporter Han Young-dae] Police will remove the barricade surrounding the Statue of Peace — which symbolizes victims of Japan’s wartime military sexual slavery — on May 6. The barricade has been in place for about six years.On April 28, Seoul’s Jongno Police Station said it plans to remove the barricade around the statue in front of the former Japanese embassy in Jongno-gu on May 6. The move is timed to coincide with the 1,751st weekly "Wednesday Demonstration," a longstanding protest calling for a resolution to Japan’s wartime military sexual slavery issue.
The barricade was installed in June 2020 at the request of advocacy group Justice and Memory after concerns that rallies by groups opposed to the comfort-women statue could damage it.
Momentum to take down the barricade picked up last month after police arrested Kim Byung-heon, leader of the Citizens’ Action to Repeal the Comfort Women Law, on charges including defamation of the deceased. Police temporarily removed the barricade during the 1,746th Wednesday Demonstration on March 31.
Justice and Memory plans to hold a ceremony at the May 6 demonstration to mark the barricade’s removal. Kim Seo-kyung, the artist who created and installed the statue, is expected to attend. Police said they will continue taking necessary measures to secure the site after the removal, including deploying mobile police units nearby.
