Speaker Woo Wonsik Meets Banminteukwi Families: "Purging Pro-Japanese Collaborators Is a Task for Today, Not Just the Past"

Luncheon Ahead of Liberation Day
Speaker Woo Criticizes Yoon Suk Yeol Administration's Event as "the Worst"

On August 13, National Assembly Speaker Woo Wonsik met with the bereaved families of the Special Investigation Committee on Anti-National Activities (Banminteukwi), which was established to purge pro-Japanese collaborators after Liberation but was dismantled after just one year. He stated, "The history of the Banminteukwi is not merely a story of the past, but a task for today."

Woo Wonsik, Speaker of the National Assembly, is giving a greeting speech at a luncheon held at Sarangjae in the National Assembly on the 13th, inviting the bereaved families of the Anti-Japanese Special Committee to commemorate the 80th anniversary of Liberation Day. Photo by Yonhap News

At a luncheon held at Sarangjae in the National Assembly, where the families of Banminteukwi members were invited, Speaker Woo remarked, "The establishment, activities, and dissolution of the Banminteukwi represent one of the painful chapters in our nation's history after Liberation."

Speaker Woo said, "The Banminteukwi marked the 'beginning of justice' for the new Republic of Korea, with the Constitutional Assembly taking the lead to punish those who betrayed the nation and collaborated with the Japanese during the colonial period. However, on June 6, 1949, the committee's activities were halted due to a police raid on its office, leaving the punishment of national traitors unfinished in history."

He went on to emphasize, "The incomplete process of purging pro-Japanese collaborators still casts a shadow over many parts of our society. The National Assembly will work together to build a country where historical justice is realized and the spirit of the independence movement continues to thrive."

Speaker Woo also explained why he did not attend last year’s Liberation Day event organized by the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, ahead of the National Assembly’s own eve celebration for the 80th anniversary of Liberation. On social media, he had previously stated, "Liberation Day events under the Yoon Suk Yeol administration were the worst," adding that "controversy erupted after a New Right figure was appointed as director of the Independence Hall of Korea, and the Liberation Association, a co-host of the event, decided not to participate."

At the luncheon, he shared, "We decided to hold a national festival as a Liberation Day eve celebration, and to do so at the National Assembly, the hall of the people’s will." He added, "The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs agreed with the purpose of holding the Liberation Day eve event as a national festival and joined as a participant, and the Liberation Association also became a co-host."

Meanwhile, on the same day, Speaker Woo visited Dondeokjeon at Deoksugung Palace to view the special exhibition "Anti-Japanese Heritage Embracing the Light," hosted by the Cultural Heritage Administration to commemorate the 80th anniversary of Liberation.