"Not Trying to Cover Up Mistakes"
Actress Lee Young-ae issued a statement saying, "This is not about covering up mistakes," in response to criticism over her donation of 50 million won for the construction of the Syngman Rhee Presidential Memorial Hall.
On the 3rd, Lee Young-ae released a statement titled "Position on Participation in Fundraising for the Construction of the Syngman Rhee First President Memorial Hall," explaining, "The fundamental purpose of the donation was to acknowledge mistakes as they are recorded in history, while also recognizing achievements and promoting harmony."
Lee Young-ae emphasized again, "If you read the letter I sent when participating in the fundraising, you will understand that I am neither covering up the mistakes of that person (former President Syngman Rhee) nor trying to overstate my convictions about the founding of the Republic of Korea," and expressed, "As a mother of two children, my sincere wish is that if we stop hating each other and come together in harmony, our children can live in a more peaceful country."
Lee Young-ae, who said, "I am saddened that my donation seems to be misunderstood contrary to my true intentions," drew a line against claims linking the memorial hall construction to "historical distortion," stating, "I do not support rewriting history and the founding story centered on President Syngman Rhee."
She added, "Rather than leading with ideology to foster hatred and conflict, I believe that embracing and accepting each other in harmony is the path to developing into a more mature liberal democratic nation. Therefore, I donated to the memorial foundation to honor the achievements of all the late presidents." In the letter Lee Young-ae actually sent to the foundation, she mentioned both the merits and faults of former President Syngman Rhee and also informed that she has donated to foundations of former presidents Park Chung-hee, Kim Young-sam, Kim Dae-jung, and Roh Moo-hyun.
Regarding her description of President Syngman Rhee as "the person who laid the cornerstone of today's free Republic of Korea" in the letter she sent to Kim Hwang-sik, chairman of the Syngman Rhee Presidential Memorial Foundation, Lee Young-ae explained, "It means gratitude for protecting our country from North Korea's armed invasion and preventing it from becoming a country like North Korea."
Earlier, Lee Young-ae became a topic of discussion for donating 50 million won to the construction of the Syngman Rhee Presidential Memorial Hall. It was especially reported that she expressed her intention to donate even before the support account was opened, right after the announcement of the launch of the promotion committee.
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