Kwangbokhoe: "New Director Kim Hyung-seok Has New Right-Wing Tendencies"
First Statement Upon Appointment: "Restoration of Pro-Japanese Collaborators' Honor"... Controversy Intensifies
Opposition: "Appointment Must Be Withdrawn... Will Boycott Liberation Day Event"
Controversy over the government’s ‘historical perspective’ is growing following the appointment of Kim Hyeong-seok as the new director of the Independence Hall of Korea. The opposition parties, including the Democratic Party of Korea and the Party for National Innovation, as well as independence movement organizations, have collectively demanded the withdrawal of the appointment and have notified their non-participation in the August 15 Liberation Day events.
Kim Hyung-seok, the 13th Director of the Independence Hall of Korea. [Photo by Independence Hall of Korea]
On the 9th, the Liberation Association, a group of independence patriots and their descendants and bereaved families, announced that they have decided not to attend the ‘Liberation Day Luncheon’ hosted by President Yoon Seok-yeol on the 14th.
In a press release, the Liberation Association stated, “As long as the director of the Independence Hall is someone who justified colonial rule by claiming that our nation’s nationality during the Japanese occupation was Japanese, there is no reason to attend a luncheon celebrating the joy of liberation,” adding, “Respecting the majority opinion of our members, we have decided not to participate and have informed the relevant authorities.”
Director Kim is identified by the Liberation Association as a so-called ‘New Right’ figure. He previously claimed that Liberation Day should be commemorated on August 15, 1948, not 1945, and argued that the bust of General Hong Beom-do should be enshrined at the Independence Hall rather than the Korea Military Academy, which sparked controversy over his New Right affiliations.
Upon hearing the news of Kim’s appointment, Lee Jong-chan, chairman of the Liberation Association, held a press conference on the 5th, criticizing, “He is a person who divides President Rhee Syngman as right-wing and Chairman Kim Gu as left-wing, belittles the history of the Provisional Government, and claims that the Republic of Korea was founded not in 1919 with the Provisional Government but in 1948,” and added, “Appointing Kim as director is like a Japanese-era spy’s act that weakens and divides the independence movement forces and erodes the national spirit.”
In response, Director Kim denied the allegations about his historical perspective, stating, “I have never sympathized with Japanese colonial rule,” but he intensified the controversy by mentioning the restoration of honor for some pro-Japanese figures as his inaugural statement upon taking office.
The opposition parties also unanimously called for the withdrawal of Kim’s appointment.
Park Chan-dae, acting leader and floor leader of the Democratic Party, said at the Supreme Council meeting at the National Assembly that morning, “The pro-Japanese virus is thriving throughout the Yoon Seok-yeol administration,” and added, “President Yoon must immediately stop this historical coup acting as Japan’s puppet and apologize a hundredfold to the people and the patriotic martyrs.”
The Democratic Party’s Special Committee on Historical Justice and the Action Forum plan to hold a rally condemning the appointment of the Independence Hall director in front of the Independence Hall in Cheonan, Chungnam, on the 14th.
The Party for National Innovation plans to soon submit a ‘Resolution Condemning the Appointment of Pro-Japanese Figure Kim as Independence Hall Director and Demanding Withdrawal’ to the National Assembly. On the same day, Hwang Un-ha, leader of the Party for National Innovation, said at the Supreme Council meeting, “Appointing a New Right historical distortion collaborator as director of the Independence Hall, which was established to oppose Japan’s historical distortion, is an insult to the people and a crime against the nation,” and pointed out, “The appointment of Professor Kim Hyeong-seok as director of the Independence Hall itself is a violation of the Constitution.”
Meanwhile, descendants of independence activists such as Kim Jin, vice chairman of the Liberation Association, and Kim Jeong-myeong, distinguished professor at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology Graduate School, who were not selected in this appointment process, filed a lawsuit the previous day at the Seoul Administrative Court seeking a suspension of execution regarding this decision.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
