Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon expressed his determination to build the Lee Seung-man Memorial Hall, stating that both merits and faults should be acknowledged.
On the 19th, Mayor Oh said on Facebook, "For over 60 years, the era of prejudice has been one where the merits of President Lee Seung-man were deliberately ignored and only his faults were thoroughly highlighted."
On the 17th, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon attended the 2024 Press Corps New Year Meeting held at Seoul City Hall on Sejong-daero, Jung-gu, Seoul, and delivered a greeting. Photo by Jo Yong-jun jun21@
He referred to the former president by saying, "There is a serious joke that there are 'two dogs (견)' to avoid: 'prejudice' and 'preconception,'" adding, "A society that views the world from only one perspective cannot develop healthily."
Mayor Oh then emphasized the former president's achievements. He explained, "President Lee Seung-man devoted himself to the independence movement throughout the Japanese colonial period, established the Republic of Korea based on liberal democracy and market economy amid the communist takeover of North Korea, China, and Russia after liberation, and solidified the Korea-US alliance by signing the Korea-US Mutual Defense Treaty shortly after the Korean War. Without even one of these?independence movement, liberal democracy, or Korea-US alliance?there would be no present-day Republic of Korea."
He continued, "We must not pass on a society of prejudice that cannot even acknowledge these facts to our children," and asserted, "Although late, it is now a crucial time to build a memorial hall that can reflect the merits and faults of the first president with a balanced perspective."
Earlier, in November of last year, Mayor Oh donated 4 million won to the Lee Seung-man Presidential Memorial Foundation, which is conducting a campaign to build the Lee Seung-man Presidential Memorial Hall.
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