Kim Won-woong: "The person called a 'ppalgaengi' should become president"

Kim Won-woong, President of the Liberation Association, is giving a greeting at the 101st anniversary ceremony of the assassination attempt by patriot Kang Woo-kyu held on the 2nd of last month at the Namdaemun Youth Chamber in Jung-gu, Seoul.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] On the 21st, Kim Won-woong, chairman of the Liberation Association, caused a stir by saying, "The next president should be someone who is called a red (communist)."

On the afternoon of the same day, Chairman Kim gave a special lecture on the theme of "The Identity of the Liberation Association and the Task of Eradicating Pro-Japanese Collaborators" at the Wangsan Heo Wi Memorial Hall in Gumi, Gyeongbuk, dedicated to the independence activist.

At the event, he said, "Whenever nationalism is mentioned, people are indiscriminately labeled as reds. Presidents Kim Dae-jung, Roh Moo-hyun, and Moon Jae-in are called reds," and added, "Therefore, the next president should be someone who is called a red by the 'Taegukgi Unit'."

Regarding the Korea-US alliance, he said, "The United States does not recognize Korea as a friend but sees it as a subordinate, so a horizontal relationship between Korea and the US must be maintained," and added, "However, if you make such claims, certain political forces and media rooted in pro-Japanese collaboration label you as a red."

He continued, "But now people are waking up, and this was reflected in the election results," adding, "Except for those who received strange education in the past, those under their 50s have awakened, realizing 'this is not right'."

Chairman Kim also raised the issue of inequality related to the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) with the US military stationed in Korea.

He said, "In the SOFA between the US military and Germany, the US military takes responsibility if there is environmental pollution on the US military base, and if a child is born between a US soldier and a German woman, the US military assumes support responsibility. However, in the SOFA with Korea, the US military does not take responsibility for environmental pollution or newborns."

He added, "When I was a member of the National Assembly, I advocated raising the SOFA to the level of Germany and Japan, but I was labeled a red."