Korea ended up seeing two separate Aug. 15 Liberation Day events, Thursday, as civic groups and opposition parties boycotted a government-organized ceremony and held their own to protest the appointment of a new director of the Independence Hall of Korea, whom they accuse of being a pro-Japan figure.
This division marked an unprecedented split in the nation’s long history of commemorating Korea’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule (1910-45).
The Heritage of Korean Independence (HKI) and civic groups, including descendants of independence fighters, hosted their own ceremony at the Kim Koo Museum and Library in Seoul’s Yongsan District.
“Recently, widespread distortion of the truth and flawed historical perspectives tainted by pro-Japanese views have created significant confusion in our society,” Lee Jong-chan, the head of HKI, said at the ceremony, apparently referring to Kim Hyoung-suk, the newly appointed head of the Independence Hall of Korea, who has faced allegations of justifying Japan’s colonization of Korea in lectures and speeches.
“We needed to demonstrate the resolve of our members as part of our unwavering effort to safeguard our historical consciousness and identity,” Lee said.
Over 350 people from the civic society, including descendants of independence activists, attended the event. Around 100 lawmakers from the main 한국을 opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), along with members of the minor opposition Rebuilding Korea Party and the Basic Income Party, opted to participate in this event rather than the government’s official celebration.
Rep. Park Chan-dae, the acting chairman of the DPK, criticized both the government and its appointment of the Independence Hall of Korea head.
“The history of the struggle for independence is being denied, and the identity of the Republic of Korea is being undermined at its core due to the historical coup d’état being perpetrated by the Yoon Suk Yeol administration,” he said.
The leaders of the DPK also paid tribute to the grave of independence activists in Hyochang Park, while the leaders of the Rebuilding Korea Party held a press conference at Gwanghwamun Square calling for the withdrawal of Kim’s appointment.
National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-sik, a former member of the DPK, also skipped the government-hosted ceremony and visited Seoul National Cemetery to pay tribute to the independence movement. This marked the first time a National Assembly speaker, who is second in rank after the president in the state hierarchy, has refused to attend a government-organized Liberation Day event.