Park Min-sik "I Will Stake My Ministerial Position to Prevent the Creation of Jeong Yul-sung Park"

Announcement of 'Honam Student Soldier Memorial Facility Construction Plan' near Suncheon Station

"Deeply saddened by Gwangju City's intention to honor Communist Party propagandists"

Park Min-sik, Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs, who has been engaged in a daily verbal battle with Kang Ki-jung, Mayor of Gwangju Metropolitan City, over the creation of the 'Jeong Yul-seong Historical Park,' strongly declared that he would stake his ministerial position to stop the project.

On the morning of the 28th, Minister Park visited the square at Suncheon Station in Jeollanam-do, where the first and largest student soldier send-off ceremony in the nation was held during the Korean War, to announce the 'Honam Student Soldiers Memorial Facility Construction Plan.' At this event, Minister Park emphasized, "If we cannot stop a project that commemorates the enemies of the Republic of Korea, then we are unqualified."

Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs Park Min-sik is speaking on the morning of the 28th at Suncheon Station in Jeollanam-do about the "Jeong Yul-seong Historical Park Development Project" promoted by Gwangju City.
[Photo by Min Hyun-gi]

He added, "I cannot help but feel devastated by Gwangju City's attempt to make our future students remember and honor the trumpeters of the Communist Party," "Jeong Yul-seong was a cheerleader who boosted the morale of the enemies who pointed guns and swords at our national army."

He continued, "I cannot tolerate even a single won of the people's budget being spent on a project that honors someone who outright denies the values of the Republic of Korea," "The Uiyeol Memorial Hall built at the birthplace of Kim Won-bong in Miryang, Gyeongnam, does not justify the Jeong Yul-seong Historical Park. I oppose former President Moon Jae-in's historical view that wants to award Kim Won-bong the highest honor since Korea's independence," he added.

Regarding Gwangju City's stance of not reconsidering the project, he said, "While the autonomy of local governments should be respected, I believe that local government heads will not push forward projects that the Korean people strongly oppose," and added, "Since public funds are involved, we are reviewing various legal measures and requests for audits by the Board of Audit and Inspection."

Minister Park also revealed plans to build a memorial facility at Suncheon Station square.

Suncheon Station is where students from the Honam region gathered in July 1950, after the outbreak of the Korean War, to resolve to join the student soldier corps. At that time, it was the largest scale in the nation. The first student soldier company was formed here, and they fought the first student soldier battle, the 'Hwagae Battle,' against over 1,000 soldiers of the North Korean 6th Division in Hwagae-myeon, Hadong-gun, Gyeongnam. Thanks to this battle, the national army was able to hold the Nakdong River defense line.

Minister Park stated, "Our precious national budget is only for remembering heroes of the Republic of Korea like the 'Honam Student Soldiers,'" and said, "To ensure that our students and citizens can inherit the values of liberal democracy that the 'Honam Student Soldiers' fought to protect, we will promote the construction of a memorial facility at Suncheon Station square, where the spirit of the 'Honam Student Soldiers' resides."

Minister Park met with Go Byung-hyun (93), who participated as a student soldier at the time, presented him with the 'Hero's Uniform' awarded to national merit recipients, and visited Suncheon Maesan High School to lay flowers at the Korean War participation monument engraved with the names of about 30 student soldiers from the school.

Meanwhile, Gwangju Metropolitan City is proceeding with the 'Jeong Yul-seong Historical Park' project, aiming for completion by the end of the year. Minister Park Min-sik openly criticized the project on his SNS, and Mayor Kang Ki-jung of Gwangju responded in kind, intensifying the controversy over Jeong Yul-seong. With civic groups and political circles joining the debate, the issue appears to be escalating into a partisan political conflict.