New Right figures occupy 25 important posts in history institutions under Yoon administration

President Yoon Suk-yeol delivers a congratulatory speech during the 78th National Liberation Day celebration held at Ewha Womans University\'s auditorium on August 15. Courtesy of the presidential office

At least 25 posts of executives in history or history education-related institutions under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration have been occupied by those who are considered New Right or far-right. This is interpreted as the process of replacing the heads and executives of institutions who were appointed by the previous government with "rightish" figures has begun in earnest. Critics say that the appointment of New Right figures in the important positions is a return to the movement of "revising history,” which was made during the Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye administrations.

According to an analysis of the status of executives in public institutions registered in the management information disclosure system ALIO on August 12, there are at least 25 high officials classified as "New Right" or "far-right" in eight institutions and committees related to history or history education. This is the result of an analysis of information from the Academy of Korean Studies, the National Institute of Korean History, the Northeast Asian History Foundation, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the National Education Commission, and the Independence Hall of Korea. Excluding the officials working in multiple institutions and committees, the total number is at least 21.

New Right refers to groups of conservative researchers and political movements and political movements that emerged in the mid-2000s under the banner of "new conservatism.” It has led the revision of history textbooks before and after the Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye governments, and has been at the center of controversies over the re-evaluation of former presidents Syngman Rhee and Park Chung-hee and a colonial view of history. It is based on the Textbook Forum and the Korean Modern History Association.

Of the eight related institutions, six are headed by the officials categorized as New Right. Kim Nak-nyeon, head of the Academy of Korean Studies, Heo Dong-hyun, head of the National Institute of Korean History, and Park Ji-hyang, head of the Northeast Asian History Foundation, are all considered New Right.

In other words, they are in charge of institutions that accumulate research on Korean history and culture (the Academy of Korean Studies), collect, organize, and compile Korean history (the National Institute of Korean History), and respond to the problem of historical distortion (the Northeast Asian History Foundation). In particular, the "two-tops" of the Academy of Korean Studies include rightists Kim Nak-nyeon, co-author of “Anti-Japan Tribalism,” and Kim Joo-sung, the chairman of the Textbook Forum. Kim Kwang-dong, the head of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and Lee Bae-yong, the head of the National Education Commission, have a history of working for New Right groups, and Kim Hyung-seok, the head of the Independence Hall, is also regarded as a New Right figure by independence movement organizations.

A large number of New Light figures have also entered the board of directors of various institutions and committees. Professor Lee Myung-hee of Gongju University, who was appointed to the board of the Academy of Korean Studies in June, was an author of the controversial rightish Kyohaksa textbook during the Park Geun-hye administration. Along with Park, the Northeast Asian History Foundation has Heo Dong-hyun, who is also the head of the National Institute of Korean History, as an ex officio board member. Eight of the academic-turned-members of the Independence Movement and National Sympathy Committee, which was launched under the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs in March last year, are also considered New Right.

※This article has undergone review by a professional translator after being translated by an AI translation tool.