"Remember 'Kim Orang,' Who Died Fighting Against the 12·12 Rebel Forces"…Yoo Seung-min's Appeal

"Soldiers and Cabinet Members Should Have Stopped Yoon Seok-yeol's Rebellion"
Statue of Kim Orang to Be Erected at Military Academy to Teach Soldiers

Former lawmaker Yoo Seung-min appealed to remember the late Lieutenant Colonel Kim Orang, who died in the line of duty while resisting the rebel forces led by Chun Doo-hwan and others. He emphasized the need to erect a statue of Lieutenant Colonel Kim at the Korea Military Academy and other places to educate future soldiers who uphold the constitutional order of the democratic republic.

On the 11th, Yoo reflected on past events related to Lieutenant Colonel Kim on social media (SNS), saying, "I wonder how things would have been if, as the National Assembly urged 12 years ago, a statue or memorial of Kim Orang had been erected with public funds at his alma mater, the Korea Military Academy, or at the Special Forces where he served, so that junior soldiers could see it." He added, "If that had been the case, no one would dare say 'We are all descendants of the rebels,' and the truth that 'we must resist the injustice of martial law and rebellion' would have been deeply engraved in their minds."

Regarding President Yoon Suk-yeol's attempt to impose martial law on the 3rd, Yoo evaluated it as "a rebellion to destroy the democratic constitutional order that occurred in the Republic of Korea in 2024, 45 years after the 12.12 military coup." He continued, "It is utterly unforgivable that the soldiers and cabinet members did not resist the orders of the rebellion ringleader," and criticized, "They should have risked their lives to stop 'Yoon Suk-yeol's rebellion.'"

Former lawmaker Yoo Seung-min is paying tribute at the memorial for Lieutenant Colonel Kim O-rang in Gimhae, Gyeongnam, on October 8, 2021. Photo by Yonhap News

He stated, "Through 'Yoon Suk-yeol's rebellion,' we see with our own eyes how fragile the constitutional order of the democratic republic is," and added, "We must restore order according to the constitution, hold those responsible accountable, and punish them." He further said, "The power to prevent tyranny lies only in the strength of virtuous souls?citizens with virtu (virtu. a strong spiritual strength that does not despair in adversity)."

Yoo was a private first class in the 33rd Security Unit of the Capital Defense Command during the 12.12 incident in 1979. He had long remembered the story of Lieutenant Colonel Kim, who resisted with a single pistol to prevent the arrest of Special Forces Commander Jeong Byung-joo at that time.

Regarding Lieutenant Colonel Kim, Yoo said, "On that fateful night, he could have survived if he had wanted to," and added, "If he had surrendered and cooperated with the rebels, he could have lived, earned a star on his uniform, advanced his career, and happily lived a long life as the eyes and guide for his wife Baek Young-ok, who was losing her sight." He introduced, "However, at the crossroads between life and death, Kim Orang chose death."

Lieutenant Colonel Kim Orang resurfaced in 2012 when Captain Kim Joon-cheol, a Special Forces veteran, wrote 'Kim Orang, a Star in the Sky of History.' Yoo, who was then chairman of the National Assembly's National Defense Committee, received the book from Captain Kim. Based on his own memories of the 12.12 incident and the book, Yoo also drafted a proposal titled 'Posthumous Award of the Military Merit Medal to the Late Lieutenant Colonel Kim Orang and the Construction of a Memorial.'

On the 12th, Yoo plans to visit Gimhae, Gyeongnam, Lieutenant Colonel Kim's hometown and the location of his bust, to pay tribute.