Defense ministry covers its ears to public opposition and removes bust from the Military Academy: Becomes the advance guard in President Yoon’s war of ideologies

“We’re watching everything,” Heroes in the struggle against Japan: The busts of five heroes in the war for independence placed in front of Chungmugwan, a general lecture building at the Korea Military Academy. From left are General Hong Beom-do, General Ji Cheong-cheon, Lee Hoe-yeong, General Yi Beom-seok (Lee Beom-seok), and General Kim Jwa-jin. Courtesy of the Korea Military Academy

Despite public opposition, the Korea Military Academy decided to remove the bust of General Hong Beom-do, a hero who fought for independence, from the campus to a location outside the school. The Ministry of National Defense appears to have stepped up as the advance guard in the war of ideas against communist totalitarianism, which President Yoon Suk-yeol stressed.

President Yoon’s ideological determination seems to have strongly affected the defense ministry’s insistence on removing the bust of General Hong despite the controversy. The president argued that in a reality where the nation is divided into the North and South, liberal democratic values were important and openly condemned North Korea, defining it as a state run by communist totalitarianism. The defense ministry acknowledged General Hong’s contribution in the independence movement, but raised an issue with his past membership in the Soviet Union Communist Party at around the same time.

For a week after the issue first stirred controversy on August 25, President Yoon did not release a clear position on the relocation of General Hong’s bust. But in the House Steering Committee on Wednesday, Cho Tae-yong, director of national security, conveyed that in a private cabinet meeting on August 29, the president said, “I won’t suggest what we should do. However, I think it would be a good idea to raise the issue and think about what is right.” Considering the context, this was no different from an order. The Office of the President said that the relocation of the statue was something that the defense ministry and the Military Academy should determine, but President Yoon was practically behind them.

Eventually, the defense ministry took the initiative. In a meeting of the parliamentary National Defense Committee on August 25, Minister of National Defense Lee Jong-sup stirred controversy by announcing plans to relocate the bust after raising an issue with General Hong’s history with the Communist Party. When the controversy intensified, the defense ministry released a statement the next day and justified the relocation by stressing the identity of the Military Academy as an institution cultivating officers defending the Republic of Korea and liberal democracy against a possible invasion from North Korea, a communist country.

Public criticism was fierce. On August 27, Lee Jong-chan, chairman of the Heritage of Korean Independence, described the decision to remove the busts of General Hong; generals Kim Jwa-jin, Ji Cheong-cheon and Yi Beom-seok of the Korean independence army; and Lee Hoe-yeong (Yi Hoi-yeong), the founder of the Shinheung Military Academy, from the Korea Military Academy as an “anti-historical decision” and called for Minister Lee to resign. That same day, former President Moon Jae-in, who brought the remains of General Hong back to Korea in 2021, asked, “Are they denying the fact that the roots of our military lie in the Korean Independence Army and the Korean Liberation Army?” and demanded the ministry to withdraw the decision.

However, the defense ministry ignored such criticism and on August 28 announced that it was thinking of relocating the bust of General Hong in front of the defense ministry building as well as the one in the Korea Military Academy. On Monday, the defense ministry reaffirmed that commemorating General Hong by placing his bust in the Military Academy when he had a history with communism was inappropriate when considering the identity of the Academy.

The defense ministry also said that although General Hong fought in the Battle of Cheongsanri (Qingshanli), he walked a different path from generals Kim Jwa-jin and Yi Beom-seok, who refused disarmament and returned to Manchuria. This led to expectations that the ministry had decided to remove only the bust of General Hong among the five busts of independence activists, which were mentioned in the relocation plan earlier. Ultimately, the Military Academy decided to remove the bust of General Hong from its campus and relocate the other busts in another location on campus, meaning that the Academy decided to remove all five busts from the current location.

Some argued that by removing the bust of General Hong, the defense ministry was taking the opportunity to further highlight General Baek Seon-yeop (Paik Sun-yup), whom the Yoon Suk-yeol government has hailed as a hero of the Korean War. Earlier the defense ministry said that it was not considering a display of a bust of General Baek, but the Military Academy resumed publishing a webtoon on General Baek on its website last month after over five years, further fueling the controversy.