Prime Minister Kim Minseok said on the 9th, in relation to the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s project to create the “Garden of Gratitude” in Gwanghwamun Square, that “it has been confirmed that the Seoul Metropolitan Government did not follow the necessary procedures for carrying out construction work, including underground construction,” adding, “We are reviewing an order to suspend the construction.”
Prime Minister Kim made these remarks during a National Assembly interpellation session that afternoon, after Park Jumin, a lawmaker of the Democratic Party of Korea, raised procedural issues in the process of promoting the Garden of Gratitude project.
Representative Park, who has thrown his hat into the ring for the Seoul mayoral race in the upcoming local elections in June, had already pointed out this issue at a press conference at the National Assembly in November last year. At the time, he criticized Seoul Mayor Oh Sehoon, saying, “Mayor Oh Sehoon is in the midst of construction, suddenly creating in the very center of Gwanghwamun Square a symbolic space called the ‘Garden of Gratitude,’ in the shape of ‘Present Arms,’ to express gratitude and respect to the countries that participated in the Korean War,” and urged him to “immediately withdraw the ahistorical ‘Garden of Gratitude’ project.”
At that time, Prime Minister Kim also in effect expressed his opposition in an indirect way, after meeting at the Government Complex with civil society groups including Kim Samyeol, president of the Korea Association of Bereaved Families of the Patriots and Martyrs, and personally inspecting the site, saying, “From a national perspective, it would be better to take the long view and first confirm the will of the people.” Prime Minister Kim then instructed the relevant ministries, including the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, to check and report whether there were any legal or procedural problems with the project. As a result, it appears that procedural defects were identified and reported.
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