Kim Won-woong "Did not mention the United Party in Liberation Day speech... Is there something they feel guilty about?"

"Revised and Refined Commemorative Speech No. 34"
"Gwangbokhoe's Position Is to Have a Firm Stance on the Issue of Clearing Pro-Japanese Collaborators"
Regarding the Question of 'Was There Coordination with the Blue House?' "There Was None at All"

Kim Won-woong, President of the Liberation Association, is finishing his commemorative speech at the 75th Liberation Day Celebration held on the 15th at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] The United Future Party strongly criticized Kim Won-woong, president of the Liberation Association, for his Liberation Day commemorative speech, accusing him of inciting conflict among the people. In response, Kim countered, "Isn't the United Future Party feeling guilty about something?"

On the 17th, Kim appeared on MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' and said, "I did not mention the United Future Party at all in the commemorative speech. I simply said 'let's clear out pro-Japanese collaborators,' but seeing the United Future Party react so angrily and jump up and down makes me think they must be feeling guilty about something," he said.

He continued about the speech, "We formed an internal team within the Liberation Association and revised the draft 34 times over two weeks to refine it," adding, "We are an organization composed of descendants of independence activists. Therefore, the Liberation Association's position is to have a firm stance on the issue of clearing out pro-Japanese collaborators."

When asked by the host whether there was any coordination with the Blue House regarding the speech, he replied, "Not at all," and added, "We did not discuss the content with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, only the timing was discussed."

Earlier, on the 15th, at the 75th Liberation Day ceremony held at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul, Kim mentioned the pro-Japanese activities of former President Syngman Rhee and composer Ahn Eak-tai, asserting that "clearing out pro-Japanese collaborators is a national mandate."

On that day, Kim stated, "What holds back the brilliant future of our nation is pro-Japanese collaborators rooted in division and parasitism. Syngman Rhee violently disbanded the Anti-American Special Committee and colluded with pro-Japanese factions. We received related materials from the German government showing that Ahn Eak-tai, who composed the national anthem, engaged in pro-Japanese and pro-Nazi activities. South Korea is the only country in the world that has adopted a song composed by a traitor to the nation as its national anthem," he claimed.

He further said, "In the most prestigious spot at the National Cemetery lies a person who sided with the Japanese colonial government and led the suppression of independence fighters," and emphasized, "Defending pro-Japanese collaborators while calling oneself conservative is no different from calling the traitor Lee Wan-yong conservative. The conflict structure in Korean society is not between conservatives and progressives but between the nation and anti-nation."

President Moon Jae-in and Kim Won-woong, President of the Liberation Association (right), are entering the 75th Liberation Day Celebration Ceremony held at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul on the morning of the 15th. / Photo by Yonhap News

However, the United Future Party has continued to strongly criticize Kim's speech, claiming it incites conflict among the people.

On the 16th, United Future Party spokesperson Bae Jun-young issued a statement saying, "Yesterday, Kim in his Liberation Day speech referred to the first provisional government president only by name, denied the national anthem 'Aegukga,' and made an outrageous claim to exhume graves at the National Cemetery," and questioned, "It is highly doubtful whether his remarks lead national unity or represent the will of the members."

He added, "I ask ruling party figures who sympathize with yesterday's divisiveness, do you want to return to the severe conflicts before the 75th anniversary? Liberation Day has been wounded."

On the 17th, United Future Party spokesperson Kim Eun-hye stated in a press release, "Kim's remarks, which turned the nation's Liberation Day into a cauldron of division, seem to have an intentional motive," and claimed, "Immediately after his remarks, the Democratic Party of Korea eagerly echoed them. They are staging a ritual of hatred to once again offer this country as a sacrifice to political strife."

She continued, "Now the president must respond. Will you again silently condone an agitator who only stirs up historical wounds to fuel national division? With the whole nation exhausted by COVID-19 and real estate issues, are you going to push the country into the smoke of conflict again? History is not a victim of politics," she emphasized.

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