Jeju Governor Won Hee-ryong Says "Kim Won-woong Must Reflect"... Heated Exchanges at Jeju Provincial Council

Park Won-cheol "If Won Hee-ryong's logic applies, even Lee Wan-yong should be forgiven"

On the 17th, Jeju Governor Won Hee-ryong is responding to questions during the 2nd regular session of the 389th Jeju Provincial Council. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] At the 75th anniversary 8.15 Liberation Day celebration, Jeju Governor Won Hee-ryong publicly criticized Kim Won-woong, chairman of the Liberation Association, sparking a heated exchange during the Jeju Provincial Council's administrative questioning session.

On the 17th, the Jeju Provincial Council held the 2nd plenary session of the regular meeting and conducted administrative questioning directed at Governor Won.

On this day, Assemblyman Park Won-cheol (Democratic Party of Korea, Jeju-si Hallim-eup) opened by saying, "Governor Won stated at the August 15 Liberation Day celebration, 'I was born under Japanese colonial rule,' among other remarks," adding, "I could not attend the event due to COVID-19, but I was truly outraged."

Previously, Governor Won had criticized in his congratulatory speech at the 8.15 Liberation Day ceremony, saying, "Chairman Kim Won-woong's commemorative address contains a highly biased historical perspective that the majority of our people and residents cannot agree with."

At that time, he said, "(Among those so-called pro-Japanese forces) there are many people who were born under Japanese colonial rule and lived as colonial subjects, following life paths they could not choose," adding, "Although not everyone participated in the independence movement, living as colonial subjects is not a crime."

Regarding this, Assemblyman Park said, "Being born under colonial rule is no excuse? I was outraged. No one criticizes our people who were powerless and without influence during the colonial era," and continued, "By that logic, people like Lee Wan-yong, Lee Kwang-soo, and Choi Nam-sun should all be forgiven."

In response, Governor Won said, "Context is necessary," and pointed out, "If Chairman Kim Won-woong had advocated for a reasonable purge of pro-Japanese collaborators at that time, I would have just applauded and moved on. But he accused An Ik-tae and all the past 21 Army Chiefs of Staff of being pro-Japanese."

Governor Won also raised his voice, saying, "It is unacceptable to divide the people by promoting pro-Japanese and anti-Japanese sentiments as political logic," and added, "Chairman Kim Won-woong should reflect on this."

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