Former President Moon Jae-in Expresses "Deep Concern" Over Controversy Surrounding Bust Removal of Hong Beom-do and Others

Former President Moon Jae-in expressed "deep concern" on the 27th regarding the Ministry of National Defense's plan to relocate the busts of General Hong Beom-do and four other independence and liberation army heroes within the Korea Military Academy.

A bust of an independence war hero erected in front of Chungmugwan at the Korea Military Academy to commemorate the 99th anniversary of the March 1st Movement in 2018. [Photo by Asia Economy DB]

On the same day, former President Moon wrote on Facebook, "Just as the roots of the Republic of Korea lie in the Provisional Government, are we denying that the roots of our armed forces also lie in the Korean Independence Army and the Liberation Army?" He pointed out, "Must the busts of anti-Japanese armed independence heroes, who lost national sovereignty and wandered through Manchuria, the Maritime Province, and Central Asia enduring hardships, now be moved around even within the Republic of Korea?"

He also emphasized, "Listening to public opinion and reconsidering is not something to be ashamed of, so I sincerely hope you will reflect carefully."

Earlier, the Korea Military Academy announced it was promoting a plan to dismantle the busts of independence heroes General Hong Beom-do, General Kim Jwa-jin, General Ji Cheong-cheon, General Lee Beom-seok, and Lee Hoe-young, founder of the Shinheung Military Academy, which were erected at the academy in 2018 to commemorate the 99th anniversary of the March 1st Movement, and relocate them to the Independence Hall of Korea, sparking controversy.

On the 25th, Defense Minister Lee Jong-seop appeared at the National Assembly’s National Defense Committee plenary session and stated regarding the plan to remove and relocate the independence activists’ busts at the Korea Military Academy, "Issues have been raised concerning communist backgrounds," adding, "We plan to reorganize the monuments within the academy."

Minister Lee said, "There has been a question of whether a person (bust) with a communist background should be present in a place that trains personnel necessary to deter war against North Korea and to win in wartime," which is interpreted as a remark targeting General Hong Beom-do’s 1927 membership in the Soviet Communist Party.

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