Korea could end up seeing two separate Aug. 15 Liberation Day events held this week as tensions rise over the appointment of Kim Hyung-seok as the new director of the Independence Hall of Korea. Kim has come under fire for his alleged pro-Japanese stance justifying Japan’s colonization of Korea (1910-45).
Opposition parties and civic groups, including those comprising descendants of independence fighters, are considering boycotting the government-led ceremony slated for Thursday, unless President Yoon Suk Yeol dismisses Kim.
They are planning to hold a separate ceremony, which, if held, would mark an unprecedented split in the decades-long commemoration of Korea’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule.
The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) renewed its call on Yoon to withdraw Kim from his post, Monday.
“In his inaugural address, Kim stated that he would ‘take the lead in restoring the honor of those labeled as pro-Japanese collaborators.’ Appointing such a person as the director of the Independence Hall of Korea is an outrageous act that shakes the 추천 very foundation of our national identity and denies our history,” DPK floor leader Rep. Park Chan-dae said during a party meeting.
The DPK vowed to boycott the upcoming Liberation Day ceremony unless Yoon retracts the appointment. Minor opposition parties, including the Rebuilding Korea Party and the Jinbo Party, also announced plans to boycott the ceremony.
Kim took office last Thursday as the chief of the Independence Hall of Korea, a national museum dedicated to the country’s independence movement.
