Taeyoungho: "The Treatment of War Heroes Shows the Future of a Country"

Tae Young-ho, a member of the United Future Party, is speaking at an emergency security briefing held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on the morning of the 10th of last month. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Min Jun-young] Regarding the political controversy surrounding the burial of the late General Baek Seon-yeop (retired Army General) at the National Cemetery, Tae Young-ho, a member of the Future United Party, said, "Wouldn't Kim Jong-un be biting his lips at the reality of South Korea fighting over the place to honor a war hero?"

On the 15th, Tae wrote on his Facebook, "I was curious about how the first four-star general in Korea and a hero of the Korean War who fought for the freedom of the Republic of Korea are being honored. Watching the behaviors happening in this country over the past five days, I feel not just sad but utterly devastated," he said.

He added, "The Blue House and the ruling party have not made any statements regarding the hero who defended the country's freedom," and "On top of that, people enjoying the freedom he protected are slandering the general as a pro-Japanese collaborator and saying, 'How can someone who fired bullets at our people be buried in the National Cemetery?'"

He continued, "How a country honors its war heroes reflects the will and future of its people to protect their regime," explaining, "When Kim Jong-un became the leader of North Korea in 2012, one of the first construction projects he undertook was the 'Reconstruction of the Fatherland Liberation War Museum.' They erected new monuments for the 'heroes who demonstrated heroic feats in the Fatherland Liberation War' and relocated the U.S. Navy ship 'Pueblo,' which was by the Taedong River, next to the newly built Fatherland Liberation War Museum."

He further stated, "Our president said, 'The regime competition between North and South has ended,' but North Korea is trying to win the regime competition based on nuclear weapons," and pointed out, "Now, the veterans who fought alongside General Baek Seon-yeop for the freedom of the Republic of Korea are losing pride in the present they defended."

He said, "The veterans who fought alongside General Baek Seon-yeop for the freedom of the Republic of Korea are losing pride in the present they defended," and added, "I am worried that the atmosphere of slandering General Baek Seon-yeop might lead to a decline in our military's morale and fighting spirit. Freedom is not given for free."

Meanwhile, Tae Young-ho, a former North Korean diplomat to the UK, defected to South Korea in 2016.

Afterward, to avoid North Korea's terror threats, he temporarily changed his name to 'Tae Gumin' but restored his real name at the end of April 2020.

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