Institute for Korean Historical Studies "Choi Jae-hyung Family's Pro-Japanese Actions" vs Choi Jae-hyung Side "Fact of Independence Movement"

Research Institute: "Grandfather Choi Byung-gyu's Actions After His 20s Close to Pro-Japanese"
Choi Jae-hyung's Side: "Cannot Define as Pro-Japanese Just Because He Held a Certain Position"

Former Board of Audit and Inspection Chairman Choi Jae-hyung, a presidential candidate from the People Power Party, is speaking at the Good Morning Roundtable held at the Korea Federation of SMEs in Yeouido, Seoul, on the morning of the 12th. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] Choi Jae-hyung, a presidential pre-candidate from the People Power Party, recently clarified the 'pro-Japanese controversy.' Meanwhile, the Institute for Research in Collaborationist Activities, which compiles the Dictionary of Pro-Japanese Collaborators, stated, "The actions of Choi Jae-hyung's grandfather and great-grandfather cannot be seen as those of independence activists."

Park Soo-hyun, Secretary General of the Institute for Research in Collaborationist Activities, said in an interview with JTBC on the 12th, "(The Choi family) may not be first-class pro-Japanese collaborators like Lee Wan-yong, but they continuously collaborated." He also claimed regarding Choi's great-grandfather, the late Choi Byung-gyu, "Serving as a myeonjang (township chief) for over 10 years indicates he had strong trust from the Japanese colonial government."

The fact that Choi Seung-hyun, the great-grandfather of candidate Choi Jae-hyung, received a commendation is recorded in the Gazette of the Government-General of Korea. / Source=Minjokmunje Research Institute

In particular, Choi's great-grandfather, Choi Seung-hyun, is known to have received a commendation from the Governor-General of Korea in 1932 while serving as myeonjang in the Pyeonggang area of Gangwon Province from 1918 to 1936.

Meanwhile, the institute pointed out regarding grandfather Choi Byung-gyu, "The student strike incident he participated in has never been recognized as an anti-Japanese movement. Even if we concede and recognize it as anti-Japanese, Choi Byung-gyu's actions after his twenties are close to pro-Japanese collaboration."

Earlier, Choi's camp stated in a commentary on the 6th, "The presidential commendation related to the late Choi Byung-gyu, his independence movement records, and the fact that he was expelled during his childhood and monitored under a ban by Japanese authorities for three years are all truthful facts."

They added, "Intellectuals during the Japanese colonial era lived with anguish in their respective positions. Holding a certain position does not define one as pro-Japanese. If that were the case, then the father of President Moon Jae-in, who served as an agricultural chief in Heungnam, would also not be free from pro-Japanese collaborator controversy. Were all the tens of thousands of Koreans who served as myeonjang during the Japanese colonial period pro-Japanese collaborators?" they appealed.

However, mentioning President Moon in the process ignited further controversy. On the 10th, the Blue House expressed regret, stating, "It is hoped that former Director Choi will remember that involving the president while explaining his own controversy is a very inappropriate behavior for a presidential candidate."

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