"Relocation of Hong Beom-do Bust? ... An Anachronistic Excessive Loyalty"

Author Kim Sam-woong of 'Hong Beom-do Biography' YTN Interview

The Ministry of National Defense announced that it is considering relocating the bust of General Hong Beom-do installed at the Korea Military Academy, prompting criticism from Kim Sam-ung, former director of the Independence Hall and author of the biography "Hong Beom-do," who said, "There must have been tacit instructions from higher-ups, or perhaps it is an anachronistic excessive loyalty of the person involved."

Earlier, on the afternoon of the 28th, the Ministry of National Defense distributed a statement titled "Position on the Bust of General Hong Beom-do at the Korea Military Academy," mentioning General Hong's membership and activities in the Soviet Communist Party, as well as suspicions related to the Free City Incident, and stated, "Installing a bust of General Hong Beom-do at the Korea Military Academy to commemorate him is not appropriate considering the identity of the Academy."

On the 30th, former director Kim appeared on YTN Radio's "News King with Park Ji-hoon" and explained regarding the Free City Incident, "Including those from our New Rising Military Academy, the independence fighters achieved great victories in the Battle of Bongodong and the Battle of Cheongsanri in 1920. As a result, the Japanese mobilized tens of thousands of regular troops to pursue them," adding, "Our independence fighters who succeeded in these two great battles moved toward the Irkutsk area, the border region between Russia and China."

On the 28th, Bang Bu stated that they are considering relocating the bust of the late General Hong Beom-do not only within the Korea Military Academy campus but also in front of the Ministry of National Defense building if necessary. The photo shows the bust of the late General Hong Beom-do installed in front of the Ministry of National Defense building in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

He continued, "However, Russia (then the Soviet Army) disarmed our independence fighters," and explained, "The reason was that our independence fighters possessed various weapons, including Japanese, Soviet, and Czech arms, which reduced efficiency, so they decided to collect them first. During this process, disagreements arose among our independence fighters over the issue of handing over weapons."

Former director Kim said, "At least in the Battle of Cheongsanri, General Hong Beom-do's unit was present, along with other units forming a combined force," and added, "Since it was a combined force, the common goal was national independence, but there inevitably were differences in direction and various opinions. The Free City Incident was a conflict that occurred during this process."

Regarding General Hong's role as a judge trying independence fighters during the trial related to the Free City Incident, he said, "From the time he was a sharpshooter, General Hong shared game such as wild boar and other animals equally with his subordinates. He was known as a very just and fair general, which is why he was assigned that role," and added, "Although it was a tremendous tragedy, only a few people were sentenced guilty."

On General Hong's membership in the Soviet Communist Party, he explained, "In our country as well, during the Liberal Party era, having a Liberal Party membership card, or during Park Chung-hee's regime, a Republican Party membership card, carried significant weight in rural areas," and added, "Since the officials there confiscated all crops, it was to prevent that."

Former director Kim said, "General Hong Beom-do was not someone ideologically obsessed with communism; rather, if you consider his tendencies, he was a nationalist," and added, "While staying in places like Vladivostok, he said 'Dangun should be the focal point,' and provided substantial funds to Daejonggyo and other ethnic religions, as well as to restore Confucianism."

He then criticized, "To label a general who achieved great victories since Admiral Yi Sun-sin as a communist is such an ignorant act. I wonder if those people have never properly read even one biography."

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