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National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik (right) meets with Heritage of Korean Independence chief Lee Jong-chan at the HKI headquarters in Seoul’s Yeongdeungpo District on Aug. 12, 2024. (Yonhap)

The appointment of Kim Hyoung-suk, an individual known for defending Japanese collaborators — those who betrayed Korea to serve the Japanese empire during Japanese occupation — as president of the Independence Hall of Korea, has prompted organizations dedicated to Korea’s independence movement to announce their intent to not attend the government’s official Liberation Day ceremony.

The Democratic Party of Korea, along with other parties of the opposition, are calling for Kim’s appointment to be canceled and have also expressed their intent to not take part in the ceremony on Thursday.

The Heritage of Korean Independence (HKI) declared Monday that it would hold an independent Liberation Day ceremony marking 79 years of liberation at the Kim Koo Museum and Library at 10 am on Thursday, Aug. 15. The event will be hosted by the HKI and the coalition of 97 associations related to the independence movement.

Lee Jong-chan, the head of the HKI, announced last week that he would not attend the government’s official ceremony or accept President Yoon Suk-yeol’s invitation to the Liberation Day luncheon.

The HKI is holding an independent ceremony as it believes that the government’s push for the establishment of the controversial “foundation day” and the appointment of an Independence Hall director who is thought to be associated with the “new right” movement is in line with the government’s attempts to legitimize Japan’s colonial occupation of Korea.

Park Chan-dae, the floor leader and acting leader of the Democratic Party, said during a party Supreme Council meeting, “The appointment of Kim as the president of the Independence Hall of Korea is an act of violence that intends to distort our nation’s history and shakes the very roots of our nation’s identity.”

“Yoon should rescind his appointment of Kim to that post and publicly apologize to the people for going forward with such an inappropriate nomination,” Park demanded.

The Democratic Party, along with the Rebuilding Korea Party, Progressive Party, New Future Party, Social Democratic Party, and Basic Income Party, have all announced plans to not attend the official Liberation Day ceremony. The six opposition parties also jointly introduced a resolution calling for Kim’s appointment as the president of the Independence Hall of Korea to be repealed to the National Assembly.

Lee, the head of the HKI, revealed during a meeting with National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik, who visited the HKI headquarters on Monday, that the presidential office tried to persuade him to change his mind after he strongly criticized Kim’s appointment.

Jeon Gwang-sam, the senior secretary for civil society, met Lee to ask that he attend the official ceremony while promising that the government “wouldn’t establish a separate ‘foundation day.’”

Park Tae-seo, the spokesperson for the National Assembly speaker’s office, also stated, “Chung Jin-suk, the president’s chief of staff, also called Lee to make the same request.”

The Independence Hall of Korea has also abruptly canceled its annual Liberation Day ceremony. An official at the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs explained, “We have decided to forgo the independent event as Kim, the new president, is to attend the government’s official Liberation Day ceremony.” 

However, figures both within the Independence Hall and beyond believe that the event was canceled since the institution was wary of the controversy surrounding Kim’s problematic historical views.

The Independence Hall of Korea’s labor union released a statement that day calling for “the immediate removal of Kim, who is planning on making Independence Hall into a ‘Japanese Collaborators Hall,’ from his post as president.”

By Park Min-hee, senior staff writer; Shin Hyeong-cheol, staff reporter; Ko Han-sol, staff reporter

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