“Stop creating a fake hero!” Civic group protests a statue of controversial pro-Japanese figure, Paik Sun-yup, in a museum for patriots

A member of the Gumi local commission of the Center for Historical Truth and Justice marches wearing a mask of General Paik Sun-yup in front of the main gate of the Dabudong War Memorial Museum in Gasan-myeon, Chilgok-gun, Gyeongsangbuk-do on July 5. Kim Hyeon-su

“A country where a pro-Japanese collaborator becomes a war hero. Oh, the Republic of Korea.”

A massive placard with these words appeared in front of the Dabudong War Memorial Museum in Gasan-myeon, Chilgok-gun in Gyeongsangbuk-do on July 5. It was displayed by the Gumi local commission of the Center for Historical Truth and Justice ahead of the unveiling of a statue of General Paik Sun-yup (Baek Seon-yeop), the first four-star general in the South Korean military. The civic group members held signs with the words, “Paik Sun-yup, a true soldier who lived in honest poverty? Had a building in Gangnam Station worth hundreds of billions of won,” and shouted, “Pro-Japanese traitor Paik Sun-yup. Stop creating a fake hero!”

The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs and the Republic of Korea Army Headquarters organized the unveiling of General Paik’s statue on Wednesday, and over a thousand people including People Power Party leader Kim Gi-hyeon, Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs Park Min-shik, Minister of National Defense Lee Jong-sup, Gyeongsangbuk-do Governor Lee Cheol-woo and residents attended the ceremony. The Dabudong War Memorial Museum is a facility to honor patriots, which the defense ministry built in 1981 to commemorate the victory in the Battle of Dabu-dong that took place on the last line of defense along Nakdong-gang River at the time of the Korean War.

The Center for Historical Truth and Justice said, “Paik Sun-yup was one of the ‘705 pro-Japanese and antinational collaborators’ selected by the Investigative Commission on Pro-Japanese and Antinational Collaborators under the president and is a pro-Japanese collaborator officially recognized by the state.” The members of the center further raised their voices asking, “How could they erect a statue of Paik Sun-yup in the Dabudong War Memorial Museum, where the souls of patriots are laid?”

General Paik is known as a hero from the Korean War who led the 1st Army Division in the Battle of Dabu-dong.

But he triggered a heated debate over pro-Japanese activities since he served nearly two years in the Gando Special Force (Kanto Tokusetsutai), notorious for subjugating the Korean Independence Army at the time of Japanese occupation.

The Investigative Commission on Pro-Japanese and Antinational Collaborators also classified Paik as a pro-Japanese and antinational collaborator based on the fact that he contributed in the war of aggression as an officer in the Manchukuo Imperial Army and in Japan’s war of aggression as an officer in the Gangdo Special Force in 1941-1945.

Guests including Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs Park Min-shik, General Paik Sun-yup’s eldest daughter Paik Nam-hee, Gyeongsangbuk-do Governor Lee Cheol-woo, Minister of National Defense Lee Jong-sup, and People Power Party floor leader Yun Jae-ok, take a picture after the unveiling of the statue of General Paik Sun-yup at the Dabudong War Memorial Museum in Chilgok, Gyeongsangbuk-do on July 5. Yonhap News

Bak Chan-mun, head of the Gumi local commission of the Center for Historical Truth and Justice said, “The argument that Paik Sun-yup is a war hero is an exaggeration and is false. Eight divisions fought in the Nakdong-gang River front. How can we give this one person all the credit? It’s the result of glorification during the military regime.”

The statues of President Rhee Syng-man and U.S. President Harry S. Truman will also be erected in front of the Dabudong War Memorial Museum this month. The private organization promoting the erection of the statues of Rhee Syng-man and Truman moved the two statues from Paju, Gyeonggi-do to the Dabudong Museum on June 16. The statues were made in 2017 but failed to find a home. Gyeongsangbuk-do recently approved the statues being housed at the Dabudong War Memorial Museum.