Yoon even turns National Liberation Day into ‘venue for dividing country’s opinions’[Editorial]

Kim Hyung-seok, the new head of the National Independence Hall speaks at a press conference at the Seoul Regional Veterans Affairs Office in Yongsan-gu, Seoul on August 12. Reporter Cho Tae-hyung

The Heritage of Korean Independence and opposition parties said on August 12 that they will boycott the government's National Liberation Day celebration if Kim Hyung-seok's appointment as head of the National Independence Hall is not withdrawn. The Alliance of Anti-Japanese Independence Organizations, which consists of 25 pro-independence groups, also decided to boycott the government ceremony and hold a separate Liberation Day event. The National Independence Hall has decided not to hold its own Liberation Day celebration for the first time in 37 years since its opening because Kim attends the government ceremony. National Liberation Day, which was supposed to be an occasion for national unity, has become a venue for dividing country’s opinions.

President Yoon Suk-yeol is responsible for all of this. The direct reason for the opposition of the Heritage of Korean Independence and others is the appointment of Kim. "There are many people who say that August 15, 1945 was National Liberation Day, but they don't know the history correctly," Kim said at an event for the “National Movement for Liberty and Democracy” last December. What he meant is that the true National Liberation Day is August 15, 1948, when the Korean government was established. This statement is in line with the New Right's founding theory of August 15, 1948, which is why he is labeled as New Right despite his denial. Since such a person was appointed as the head of the National Independence Hall, how can the Heritage of Korean Independence and independence activist groups accept it?

Despite this, President Yoon has appointed a number of New Right figures to head historical and educational institutions, including Kim Nak-nyeon, the head of the Academy of Korean Studies, Lee Bae-yong, the head of the National Education Commission, Kim Kwang-dong, the head of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and and Park Ji-hyang, the head of the Northeast Asian History Foundation, are all considered New Right. They have in common that they glorify the country as modernized during the Japanese occupation, vilify independence activists and the history of independence movements, downplay the dark history of dictatorship, and refuse to demand an apology and reflection from Japan for colonial rule. The controversies over the removal of the bust of General Hong Beom-do, the three-party reimbursement of forced labor and the humiliating diplomatic disaster related to Sado mines, and KBS's airing of a documentary on the glorification of Syngman Rhee, which the Korean Film Council evaluated as lacking objectivity, will be related to the domination of New Right figures under the Yoon administration. I cannot help but wonder if the New Right has been established as a view of the history of the Yoon government.

Since democratization in 1987, successive governments have upheld three historical principles based on social consensus. First, the history of independence fighters and independence movements should be respected, regardless of the left or right; second, the history of dictatorship should not be glorified, even if it is credited with modernization; and third, Japan's sincere apology and reflection on the past is necessary for future-oriented relations with Korea. However, all of these principles have been broken by the Yoon administration.

It is not enough to try to integrate progressives and conservatives in an already polarized society, but it has appointed New Right figures to make traditional conservatives, such as Lee Jong-chan, chairman of the Heritage of Korean Independence, turn their backs on. At this point, it is even embarrassing to call it a conservative government. What do they want to achieve by dividing the country like this, a historical war? Yoon should immediately revoke Kim's appointment and clarify his official position on the New Right's revisionist history.

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