Park Min-sik "Gwangju City, Honoring Communist Party Mouthpieces Instead of National Heroes"

Jeong Yul-seong Historical Park Sparks Verbal Clash Between Park Min-sik and Kang Ki-jung
"Turning the Democratic Movement Shrine into a North Korean Patriotic Martyrs' Cemetery?"
Jeong Yul-seong's Support Activities for Chinese People's Army During the Korean War

In Gwangju Metropolitan City, a heated debate erupted between Park Min-sik, Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs, and Kang Ki-jung, Mayor of Gwangju, over the creation of the 'Jeong Yul-seong Historical Park.' Jeong Yul-seong, an anti-Japanese activist from Gwangju, joined the Chinese Communist Party in 1939 and composed the 'Balo Army March,' which is currently used as a march for the Chinese People's Liberation Army. During the Korean War, he conducted frontline morale-boosting activities for the Chinese People's Army and later naturalized as a Chinese citizen.

On the 22nd, Minister Park criticized the project on his Facebook, asking, "Are you trying to build a shrine for North Korean patriotic martyrs?" and demanded the withdrawal of Gwangju's plan to establish the Jeong Yul-seong Historical Park. In May 2020, Gwangju announced plans to create the park in the Bullo-dong area of Dong-gu, with a total budget of 4.8 billion won, aiming to complete the park by the end of this year.

Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs Park Min-sik
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Minister Park pointed out that Jeong Yul-seong joined the Chinese Communist Party and composed the 'Balo Army March,' stating, "He did not fight against the Japanese for the Republic of Korea." He added, "After liberation, he returned to North Korea and served as the head of the Korean People's Army club, founded the People's Army Orchestra, and became its director," criticizing that "the Korean People's Army march he composed boosted the morale of North Korean troops throughout the Korean War."

He particularly emphasized, "When the Korean War broke out, he organized a war entertainment troupe to comfort the Chinese Communist troops," and "He naturalized as a Chinese citizen, composed works for the Chinese Communist Party, and ended his life as a Chinese national." As evidence for this criticism, he posted a photo of a certificate Jeong Yul-seong received from Kim Il-sung in February 1948, recognizing his diligent execution of North Korea's people's economic plan.

Minister Park said, "What is the difference between building a memorial park for Kim Il-sung, who also participated in the anti-Japanese movement?" He criticized, "Although the city finances are used at the Gwangju city level, isn't city finance the taxpayers' money?" He continued, "As the Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs, I strongly express concern over Gwangju's plan to commemorate a person who led efforts to destroy the free Republic of Korea with taxpayers' money."

Kang Ki-jung, Mayor of Gwangju City
Photo by Yonhap News

Subsequently, Kang Ki-jung, Mayor of Gwangju, posted on social media under the title "Gwangju invests in the Jeong Yul-seong Historical Park," rebutting Minister Park's criticism. He stated, "Gwangju neither glorifies nor disparages Jeong Yul-seong," emphasizing, "Thanks to his achievements as an outstanding musician, many Chinese tourists visit Gwangju. Gwangju will discover and invest in Jeong Yul-seong as a historical and cultural resource of Gwangju."

In response, Minister Park posted again on social media, retorting, "Is it all just to attract Chinese tourists? If it makes money, does national identity not matter?" He added, "I am even more outraged because I understand the pain of the era," stressing, "The Republic of Korea, where the blood of countless people who were killed by the enemy while singing the military songs he composed has not yet cooled."

He particularly highlighted that Honam is the "holy land of the democratization movement," mentioning that there are over 2,600 independence activists from Honam, including Dr. Seo Jae-pil. He said, "This is truly the proud history of Honam, and there are so many heroes to remember and commemorate, so why build a memorial park for a mouthpiece of the Communist Party?" and criticized, "Local governments are not meant to commemorate such anti-national figures."

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