Independence Activist Groups "If Director Kim Hyung-seok Holds Out, We Will Boycott Liberation Day Ceremony"

Opposition to Appointment of Independence Hall Director... Director Kim "Not New Right"

"Until Director Kim Hyung-seok resigns, we will not attend other government commemorative events held on March 1st or Memorial Day for the Patriotic Martyrs, and will hold separate events."

The Anti-Japanese Independence Patriots Promotion Organization Federation (Hangdanyeon), composed of 25 organizations honoring independence activists, announced that it will not participate in the Liberation Day ceremony hosted by the government on the 15th. They also announced on the 11th that they plan to hold a separate Liberation Day commemorative event.

On the morning of the 5th, Lee Hae-seok, director of the Liberation Association (third from the left), and other members of the Liberation Association held a press conference at the National Assembly Communication Hall in Yeouido, Seoul, opposing the nomination of a New Right-affiliated director for the Independence Hall.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Yonhap News reported on the same day, citing a phone call with Min Sung-jin, Secretary General of Hangdanyeon, that "Hangdanyeon and the Institute for Korean Historical Issues plan to hold a Liberation Day event on the 15th at Hyochang Park in Yongsan, Seoul." Secretary General Min added, "We have also proposed participation to opposition parties and plan to invite other organizations such as the Liberation Association to join."

The conflict between the government and the Liberation Association intensified after the appointment of Kim Hyung-seok, Chair Professor at Kosin University, as the new director of the Independence Hall. The Liberation Association claims that Director Kim is a New Right figure based on his remarks that "Liberation Day is not August 15, 1945, but August 15, 1948, when the Republic of Korea government was established," and that "during the Japanese colonial period, there was no country, so the people at that time held Japanese nationality."

At an inauguration meeting on the 8th, Director Kim said he had never heard of being called New Right and expressed his view on the Foundation Day, stating that the founding process began with the 1919 Provisional Government and was completed with the establishment of the government in August 1948, so it should be seen as a period rather than a single point in time.

Hangdanyeon will also not attend the luncheon event for descendants of independence activists hosted by President Yoon Suk-yeol on the 14th, and plans to hold a rally in front of the Independence Hall in Cheonan, Chungnam, demanding Director Kim’s resignation. The General Hong Beom-do Memorial Association, an independence activist promotion organization not affiliated with Hangdanyeon, is also considering not attending the government-hosted Liberation Day ceremony.

A representative of the Hong Beom-do Memorial Association told Yonhap News, "Our position will be decided at the extraordinary general meeting tomorrow (the 12th)," and added, "We also strongly oppose the appointment of the director of the Independence Hall."

Kim Hyung-seok, the newly appointed director of the Independence Hall, is holding a press conference after the inauguration ceremony on the 8th at the Independence Hall in Cheonan, Chungnam.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Director Kim Hyung-seok reiterated that he is not New Right. In a phone interview with Yonhap News, he said, "My view is that liberation, meaning regaining sovereignty, started with the establishment of the Provisional Government in 1919 and was completed with the establishment of the government in 1948. I do not deny liberation from Japan in 1945," and added, "I am not a New Right figure who disparages independence activists or supports colonial rule during the Japanese occupation."

Meanwhile, opposition parties strongly criticized Director Kim and President Yoon Suk-yeol and called for the withdrawal of the appointment. On the 10th, Park Chan-dae, acting leader and floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, said at the party’s supreme council meeting, "The ‘pro-Japanese virus’ is thriving throughout the Yoon Suk-yeol administration," and urged, "President Yoon must stop this historical coup acting as Japan’s puppet and immediately cancel Director Kim’s appointment."