Veterans Affairs Office Promotes Construction of 'Rhee Syngman Memorial Hall'..."Time for Reassessment"

Preliminary Review Underway... Planned for Inclusion in Next Year's Budget
Park Min-sik, Director of the Veterans Affairs, "Lee Seung-man's Achievements Must Be Reappraised"

The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs is promoting the construction of the 'President Rhee Syngman Memorial Hall.'

On the 27th, the Ministry announced that it is conducting preliminary review work regarding the location and other aspects for the construction of the President Rhee Syngman Memorial Hall.

A Ministry official stated in a phone interview with Asia Economy on the same day, "Since his inauguration, Minister Park Min-sik has emphasized that the historical reevaluation of former President Rhee Syngman and General Paik Sun-yup is an essential task to firmly establish the national identity of the 'Free Republic of Korea.' We are promoting policies to objectively present the merits and demerits of these figures to the public and to have them evaluated."

On the afternoon of the 26th, Park Min-sik, the Commissioner of the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs, delivered a congratulatory speech at the 148th anniversary ceremony of former President Syngman Rhee's birth held at Ewha Jang in Jongno-gu, Seoul.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Based on the preliminary review results of the memorial hall project, the Ministry plans to reflect related content in next year's budget proposal. The President Rhee Syngman Memorial Hall project is expected to be jointly promoted by the Ministry, the memorial project association, and the local government (of the location). Once the Ministry secures the site from the local government, the building will be constructed using central government funds.

According to the Act on the Treatment of Former Presidents, if private organizations pursue the construction of a former president's memorial hall or memorial library, national treasury support is possible within necessary limits. Some speculate that specific construction plans or schedules might be announced in line with the formal launch of the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs in June this year, but the Ministry maintains that "nothing has been decided yet."

Additionally, Minister Park Min-sik stated at the '148th Anniversary Commemoration Ceremony of Dr. Rhee Syngman's Birth,' held yesterday at Ewha Hall in Jongno-gu, Seoul, organized by the Rhee Syngman Founding President Memorial Project Association, "It is time to honestly and calmly reexamine the achievements of Founding President Rhee Syngman beyond political camps," adding, "That is the minimum courtesy and duty toward the founding president and essential to correctly establish the identity of the Free Republic of Korea."

Meanwhile, the Ministry is also carrying out a statue construction project for General Paik Sun-yup as one of Minister Park's key policies, with the budget included in this year's Ministry budget. The statue will be installed at a major stronghold of the Nakdong River defense line, symbolizing the protection of liberal democracy, and the Ministry plans to symbolize this area as the 'Patriotic Belt.' However, controversy surrounding General Paik's pro-Japanese activities is expected to be unavoidable.

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