"Just Before Execution, 'Long Live the Republic of Korea' - The True Heart of Park Heung-ju...[Land of Happiness①]"

Admitted Crime Without Excuses in Trial
President's Attendance Confirmed Around 4:30 PM on Incident Day
"Gungjeong-dong Tragedy to Become a Catalyst for Democratic Korea's Progress"

The film 'Land of Happiness' deals with the trial of those involved in the October 26 Incident. Park Tae-joo (Lee Sun-kyun) is the secretary to the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. He clashes repeatedly with lawyer Jung In-hoo (Jo Jung-suk), who spares no means or methods to win the case.

Park Tae-joo is a character inspired by Army Colonel Park Heung-joo, who was sentenced to death and executed. Park Heung-joo was a capable and honest soldier, praised as a future Chief of Staff of the Army. Although he was the powerful secretary to the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, who could command even birds to fall, he lived in a semi-basement rental house on a hillside in the slums of Haengdang-dong, which even a jeep could not climb. Moreover, he had not yet fully paid off the remaining balance on the house.

Director Chu Chang-min asks why he was put on trial as a suspect in the presidential assassination case and whether he really could not refuse the orders of Intelligence Director Kim Jae-gyu. The real target is not Park Heung-joo but the audience. The film poses the question: if placed in the same situation, what choice would you make?

Ahn Dong-il, who defended Kim Jae-gyu, published a book in 2017 titled 'I Was Kim Jae-gyu's Lawyer.' According to it, Kim Jae-gyu repeatedly lamented to Ahn Dong-il, "My subordinates are innocent."

"They only committed the crime of obeying my orders. I understand there is a precedent in the past in Japan where subordinates were not held responsible. Please defend them diligently on their behalf."

As requested, Park Heung-joo could only guess the situation when he returned at 7:10 p.m. on the day of the incident. Along with Park Sun-ho, the protocol chief of the Central Intelligence Agency, he heard the following from Kim Jae-gyu.

"What do you think? If the country goes wrong, both you and I will die. Today, I will take care of it, so take care of the bodyguards."

At that moment, Park Heung-joo realized that Kim Jae-gyu was armed with a pistol. He also heard Park Sun-ho ask, "Even His Excellency?" and heard the request for a 30-minute extension.

During the trial, the prosecutor asked Park Heung-joo, "If you assassinate His Excellency, it would be a state rebellion, right?" This was a question aimed at the purpose of disturbing the national order. Park Heung-joo answered briefly, "Yes."

The prosecutor then asked, "Why did you follow the orders of defendant Kim Jae-gyu despite that? Moreover, as an active-duty colonel, what should you do if ordered to kill His Excellency the President?" Park Heung-joo replied, "I could not answer at that moment and only listened."

"I went to the main building's secretary office with a pistol, smoked a cigarette, and thought about it. The Army Chief of Staff and the Deputy Director of the Intelligence Agency were there, preparations were complete, and the CIA Director knew all the information about Korea. When he said that if the country goes wrong, both you and I will die, I felt a great sense of urgency."

Park Heung-joo did not make petty excuses. When asked by the prosecutor, "Does the defendant think he did well in this crime?" he answered succinctly, "I was wrong."

The prosecutor suspected that Park Heung-joo might have understood the series of situations earlier than his testimony. This was because the secretary to the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency always accompanied the Director when leaving the office to carry out missions.

Following Kim Jae-gyu's orders, Park Heung-joo contacted related departments and received reports from subordinate units to relay. He was assigned a four-member security team and also performed personal protection duties for the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Being with him every moment, he inevitably knew Kim Jae-gyu better than anyone else.

However, Park Heung-joo told his lawyer Tae Yoon-gi that he did not know the details of the YH incident, the Shinmin Party leader incident, the Bu-Ma uprising, or the disappearance of Kim Hyung-wook. "I only knew that Kim Jae-gyu was struggling with those issues," he said.

In fact, Park Heung-joo visited the old Gungjeong-dong building and the restaurant for the first time on the day of the incident. Until the day before, he did not even know who would attend the meeting. He learned that the President would attend around 4:30 p.m. on the day of the incident. He heard from Kim Jae-gyu, who was about to get a haircut, "If His Excellency comes early, it will be hard to keep the schedule, so let's do it tomorrow."

He stated at the trial, "I did not know the plan in advance. I suddenly heard about it and encountered the situation, and I thought it was proper to follow my superior."

In response, Tae Yoon-gi asked, "At the crossroads of whether to kill someone or not, did you think you should follow the Director?" Park Heung-joo replied, "When I encountered the situation, I did not know how to act," and added, "I thought that if you kill someone, no matter how good you are, you must be tried as a murderer."

He did not make excuses even during the legal officer's questioning. When asked, "As a senior army officer who graduated from the Military Academy, is the order of defendant Kim Jae-gyu important, or is it more important to protect the safety of His Excellency the President, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces?" he answered, "At that time, due to urgent surrounding circumstances, I only thought about personal safety rather than the greater cause. I did not judge well."

He also revealed that he thought a lot about what the right path was at the time and even considered committing suicide with his family. Furthermore, he said, "I do not know whether this incident was a revolution, who was behind it, or whether it was premeditated, but I think Kim Jae-gyu did not act alone."

The Martial Law Ordinary Military Court of the Army Headquarters applied charges of murder for the purpose of rebellion and attempted engagement in important duties of rebellion, sentencing him to death as requested. Park Heung-joo, dressed in military work clothes with a scruffy beard, could not hide his anxious and tense expression. However, even in that moment, he maintained a steady posture, looking straight ahead with his chest open.

As an active-duty soldier, he was subject to a single-instance trial. The sentence was finalized with the first trial verdict. Tae Yoon-gi filed a retrial, the last legal remedy, intending to at least postpone the execution date. However, Park Heung-joo ended his life on March 6, 1980, by firing squad on a hill in Sorae-myeon, Siheung-gun, Gyeonggi Province. This was before the Supreme Court's final verdict on other defendants.

Just before the execution, he shouted "Long live the Republic of Korea" twice. The reason can be seen in his final statement. He emphasized that his actions during the October 26 Incident were the most appropriate and accurate.

"Now that everything is over, I have many thoughts. However, at that time, I believe I acted with the most appropriate and accurate judgment. I sincerely hope that the Gungjeong-dong tragedy will become a catalyst for the development of a democratic Korea. And I apologize to the bereaved families. That is all."