Freedom fighter associations, liberals boycott gov't ceremony to celebrate Liberation Day

Associations of independence fighters and their descendants, along with liberal parties, boycotted the government's ceremony to commemorate the country’s Liberation Day on Thursday.

Democratic Party floor leader Park Chan-dae, center, and lawmakers hold the Korean flag up and shout "Manse" at Hyochang Park in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on Thursday, marking the country's 79th Liberation Day. [YONHAP]

Associations of independence fighters and their descendants, along with liberal parties, boycotted the government's ceremony to commemorate the country’s Liberation Day on Thursday to protest against the president’s appointment of a controversial figure as the head of the Independence Hall of Korea.

The state-funded Heritage of Korean Independence (HKI), the country’s largest group of independence fighters and their descendants, held a separate ceremony at the Kim Koo Museum & Library in Yongsan District, central Seoul, marking the first time in history for the association to skip the government's Liberation Day event.

The government’s ceremony was held at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in Jongno District, central Seoul.

The move came as the newly appointed president of the Independence Hall of Korea, Kim Hyoung-suk, faced public scrutiny over accusations that he tried to justify Japan's colonial rule. The director of the Independence Hall, an organization under the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs, is appointed by the president upon the minister's recommendation.

“The distortion of truth and the shallow historical understanding tainted by a pro-Japanese perspective has been confusing our society recently,” said Lee Jong-chan, head of the HKI, during its separate Liberation Day ceremony held Thursday.

“The HKI could not just sit back and observe this historical regression and damage.”

Lee Jong-chan, head of the Heritage of Korean Independence, speaks during a separate ceremony to commemorate the country's Liberation Day at Kim Koo Museum & Library in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on Thursday. [NEWS1]

Lee also criticized the government’s appointment of the new head of Independence Hall, noting that "figures who carelessly judge history are prominently appearing in positions handling and teaching history."

The association has labeled Kim Hyung-seok as a "New Right figure" and demanded the withdrawal of his appointment, accusing him of promoting the idea of a founding day rather than a liberation day.

During a conservative group lecture last year, Kim indicated that Aug. 15, 1945, was not the true Liberation Day, instead asserting that it should be on Aug. 15, 1948, when President Syngman Rhee was inaugurated as South Korea's first president.

Upon taking office, Kim also expressed his intention to lead efforts to restore the honor of those he believed were wrongfully labeled pro-Japan collaborators.

National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik did not attend either ceremony on Thursday, having announced a day earlier his decision to skip the government’s ceremony.

“It is regretful, but I cannot accept a ceremony celebrating Liberation Day that is worrying the public and is not attended by the HKI,” Woo said in a statement on Wednesday.

“I would not attend a ceremony that distorts the independence movement and disparages history.”

This marks the first time in history that the head of the legislative branch has missed a Liberation Day ceremony, apart from former parliament speaker Park Byeong-seug’s absence due to his official visit to Turkey in 2021.

Along with independence fighters’ groups, six liberal parties, including the Democratic Party (DP), minor Rebuilding Korea Party and Progressive Party, also boycotted the government’s ceremony and instead attended the separate ceremony held by the HKI.

DP floor leader Park Chan-dae, who attended the event in Yongsan, criticized the Yoon Suk Yeol government for its “conspiracy to pass on the nation to Japan and the New Right” and demanded an apology to the public and the patriotic martyrs.

Park also criticized Yoon’s mention of “anti-freedom” and “anti-unification” groups during his speech at the government's Liberation Day ceremony earlier in the day as dividing the nation based on “wrong ideologies.”

BY CHO JUNG-WOO [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]