General Baek Sun-yeop Buried at Daejeon National Cemetery... President Moon Sends Wreath to Express Condolences (Comprehensive)

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dong-hyun] The burial site of General Baek Seon-yeop, whose enshrinement at the National Cemetery had been controversial due to his pro-Japanese actions during his lifetime, has been decided to be at Daejeon National Cemetery. President Moon Jae-in also sent a wreath to the funeral hall to express his condolences.

According to the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs and the Army on the 11th, General Baek's family applied to the Ministry for burial at Daejeon National Cemetery, and after related deliberations on the same day, his enshrinement in the second generals' section of Daejeon National Cemetery was confirmed. Article 5 of the National Cemetery Act stipulates that the National Cemetery is designated for those who died as patriots and national heroes, active-duty military personnel, recipients of military merit medals, generals, those who served in the military for more than 20 years, and those who died in the line of duty.

President Moon sent a wreath to General Baek's funeral hall set up at Seoul Asan Medical Center in Songpa-gu, Seoul, on the same day to express his condolences. The Blue House explained that this was in accordance with the measure to send a presidential wreath upon the death of a recipient of a military merit medal. General Baek received the Taegeuk Military Merit Medal twice, the Eulji Military Merit Medal, and the Chungmu Military Merit Medal during his lifetime. However, the Blue House stated that President Moon's sending of the wreath was not simply based on the government's regulation regarding benefits for deceased military merit medal recipients.

U.S. Ambassador to Korea Harris also visited General Baek's funeral hall in the afternoon to console the bereaved family. U.S. Forces Korea Commander Robert Abrams mourned General Baek's death, calling him "a sincerely missed hero and a national treasure."

There have been ongoing controversies over the appropriateness of General Baek's enshrinement at the National Cemetery. Considering that he was the first four-star general in the Korean military and his contributions during the Korean War, there is no issue with his eligibility for burial at the National Cemetery. However, some voices have opposed his enshrinement due to his pro-Japanese actions.

According to the Dictionary of Pro-Japanese Collaborators published by the Institute for Research in Collaborationist Activities, a civic group investigating and researching pro-Japanese and anti-national acts, General Baek participated in an attack operation against the Chinese People's Liberation Army as part of the Kando Special Unit's machine gun and mortar company in December 1943. At the time of Japan's defeat, his rank was lieutenant in the Manchukuo Army. The Kando Special Unit conducted 108 tunnel warfare operations against the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army and the People's Liberation Army until Japan's defeat, resulting in the deaths of 172 anti-Japanese armed forces and civilians.

However, General Baek claimed that although he served in the Kando Special Unit during his lifetime, he never directly fought against the independence army. Nevertheless, records in the "Chronicles of the Korean Ethnic Footprints in China" indicate that during General Baek's service, the Kando Special Unit killed innocent Koreans and others and confiscated food supplies. In 2009, General Baek was included in the list of pro-Japanese and anti-national collaborators announced by the Presidential Committee for the Inspection of Pro-Japanese and Anti-National Acts, and the label "pro-Japanese collaborator" has followed him ever since.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.