Descendants of independence fighters return honorary degrees from the Korea Military Academy

The honorary degree of Yoon Ki-seob, which will be returned to the Korea Military Academy on September 15. Courtesy of an association of organizations promoting patriots who fought against Japan for national independence

The descendants of independence fighters who received honorary degrees from the Korea Military Academy decided to return the degrees. They said they could not bear the insult as they witnessed the Yoon Suk-yeol government trying to erase the history of our independence movement by removing the bust of General Hong Beom-do.

According to the coverage by the Kyunghyang Shinmun on September 14, the descendants of Gyu-un Yoon Ki-seob, who served as the principal of the Shinheung Military Academy and the speaker of the Korean Provisional Assembly; General Ji Cheong-cheon, who served as the commander in chief of the Korean Liberation Army; and Seokju Lee Sang-ryong, who was the first prime minister of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea decided to visit the Korea Military Academy at 3 p.m. Friday and return the honorary degrees. A group promoting the General Hong Beom-do (Hong Bumdo) memorial and the descendants of Woodang Lee Hoe-yeong are also reviewing returning the degrees.

Lee Jun-sik, the grandson of General Ji Cheong-cheon who formerly served as the director of the Independence Hall of Korea said, “The Military Academy gave the honorary degrees claiming it would continue to pass on the spirit of the Independence Army and the Liberation Army including the Shinheung Military School. Only a few years have passed, and the Army is saying it cannot recognize the history of the independence movement as its roots, so there is no reason to keep the degrees.”

In March 2018, the Korea Military Academy granted honorary degrees to four surviving patriots at the time and to thirteen descendants of independence activists. This was after President Moon Jae-in referred to the Korean Liberation Army, which was the first formal military of the Republic of Korea, as “the founding fathers of the Republic of Korea,” in a speech commemorating the March 1 Independence Movement that year, making it clear that the roots of our military could be traced back to the independence fighters. The busts of the five heroes of the independence war were installed in the Military Academy campus in line with such views.

On the honorary degree granted in the name of the president of the Military Academy, it said, “We present this honorary degree according to the regulations of the Korea Military Academy for the noble sacrifice you have made for the sovereign independence of our country as a member of the Independence Army, and particularly for the sublime patriotism and dedicated spirit as a soldier you personally displayed during the independence war, providing a role model of a true soldier to the cadets who aim to fulfill their duties as soldiers dedicated to the nation.”

When handing out the degree, the Academy said, “The spirit of the Independence Army and Liberation Army dedicated to the independence of our country in the snowy Manchurian plains has become the spiritual root of the military of the Republic of Korea and has made a great contribution to the development of the Korea Military Academy.” The school further said, “Therefore, we have provided this meaningful event to grant an honorary degree from the Korea Military Academy to express our endless respect for the noble sacrifice of our predecessors and to inherit their spirit.”

But five years later, on August 31, the Military Academy announced that it would remove the bust of General Hong Beom-do installed in front of Chungmugwan, a general lecture building on campus. The school also decided to relocate the busts of Lee Hoe-yeong and generals Ji Cheong-cheon, Yi Beom-seok (Lee Beom-seok) and Kim Jwa-jin to another location on campus.

On September 6, Minister of National Defense Lee Jong-sup said that he thought the Korea Guard Academy was the spiritual root of the Military Academy. The next day, Jeon Ha-kyu, the defense ministry spokesperson said, “The Korea Military Academy was born from the Military English School, established in 1945, which transformed into the Korea Guard Academy, renamed as the Joseon Guard Academy, then officially launched as the Korea Military Academy in 1948.” The ministry officially denied the position of the previous government, which saw the Shinheung Military Academy as the root of the Korea Military Academy.

The descendants of independence fighters argued that the Yoon Suk-yeol government was trying to erase the connection between the Army and the Independence Army and Liberation Army.

Lee Jun-sik said, “Not long after they erected the busts, they are declaring that the Army had nothing to do with the independence movement and that it was launched as U.S. mercenaries,” sharing mixed feelings about the school’s measure.

Attorney Jeong Cheol-seung, the grandson of Yoon Ki-seob said, “According to the Constitution, the Republic of Korea is a legitimate successor of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea, so naturally, the military should be the legitimate successor of the Independence Army and the Liberation Army. But they keep insisting that the Academy was born from the Military English School in the days of the U.S. military government.” He argued, “They claim pro-Japanese traitors, criminals responsible for a coup d'etat, and people who massacred civilians are their role models, and not independence activists who sacrificed everything,” and added, “If this is the spirit of the Military Academy, then it would be right to shut it down.”

Lee Hang-jeung, the great-grandson of Lee Sang-ryong and co-leader of an organization promoting the Shinheung Military Academy memorial asked, “They refuse to acknowledge independence activists, so what’s the use of keeping the degrees?”

A representative of the Korea Military Academy explained, “The Academy started out as the Military English School, which opened in December 1945, and was established as the South Korea Guard Academy in May 1946. The Academy was later renamed as the current Korea Military Academy when the Korean Army was established on September 5, 1948, and continues to this day.” At the same time, he said, “We also trace our spiritual origin back to modern military education agencies, such as the Korean Empire Military Academy and the Provisional Military Academy as well as the Shinheung Military Academy, which trained the soldiers fighting for independence.” However, he said he was unable to give a comment on the return of the honorary degrees.