"'Ideological War' Now Escalates to Moon's Father... Opposition Says 'Things Are Going Crazy'"

Kim Sung-joo: "Moon's Father, Even If Worked During Japanese Occupation, Is Not a Pro-Japanese Collaborator Under Special Law"
Ha Tae-kyung: "Moon's Father Was Also a Government Official During Japanese Occupation Before Liberation"

President Yoon Suk-yeol stated that "ideology is the most important," as an 'ideological war' spreads throughout the political sphere, its repercussions have even reached the father of former President Moon Jae-in. Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs Park Min-sik responded to opposition parties criticizing General Baek Seon-yeop's 'pro-Japanese actions' by saying, "If that logic applies, then former President Moon's father is also a pro-Japanese collaborator," leading former President Moon to file a complaint against Minister Park. The pro-Moon faction launched a counterattack against Minister Park, while the ruling party came out in his defense.

Choi Jae-sung, former senior secretary for political affairs at the Blue House and a pro-Moon figure, said on June 7 on YTN's "News King with Park Ji-hoon," "Minister Park is not normal. He is crazy," and added, "Currently, including the president, the so-called views on history, pro-Japanese issues, and ideological matters are going completely mad."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Minister Park sparked controversy the previous day at the National Assembly when he said to Democratic Party lawmakers criticizing General Baek's pro-Japanese actions, "(Former President Moon's father) the agricultural chief of Heungnam City is not a pro-Japanese collaborator, but Baek Seon-yeop, a second lieutenant at the Manchurian Military Academy, is a pro-Japanese collaborator." Former President Moon filed a defamation lawsuit against him.

Former Secretary Choi said, "(The agricultural chief) served after liberation. And this General Baek was officially confirmed as a pro-Japanese collaborator during the Lee Myung-bak administration," adding, "It was not arbitrarily made to label General Baek as pro-Japanese; there was an official designation."

He explained, "The Gando Special Unit was created with the purpose of 'Koreans suppressing Korean anti-Japanese resistance,' and there were three groups: the first and second were volunteers," and added, "So those (volunteers in the Gando Special Unit) voluntarily supported suppressing the independence army." This implies that General Baek's pro-Japanese activities were voluntary.

Pro-Moon lawmaker Kim Sung-joo also stated on his social media, "The claim that Baek Seon-yeop is not a pro-Japanese collaborator (as Minister Park said) is false," and explained, "According to Article 2, Clause 10 of the Special Act on the Investigation of Anti-National Acts during the Japanese Colonial Period, which defines pro-Japanese anti-national acts as 'acts of officers of second lieutenant rank or higher in the Japanese Imperial Army who actively cooperated in the invasion war,' the Pro-Japanese Anti-National Acts Investigation Committee announced in 2009 that Baek was included as an anti-national actor."

Lawmaker Kim added, "The claim that former President Moon's father was the agricultural chief of Heungnam City during the Japanese colonial period is false," and said, "The period when his father served as agricultural chief was after liberation, and even if he had worked during the Japanese colonial period, he would not be considered a pro-Japanese collaborator under the Special Act."

On the other hand, the ruling party defended Minister Park's remarks. Ha Tae-kyung, a People Power Party lawmaker, said on social media, "It is certain that (former President Moon's father) was a city hall official during the Japanese colonial period, so on what grounds is Minister Park being sued?" He added, "Former President Moon's father passed the ordinary civil service exam (currently the Grade 9 civil service exam) in 1940 during the Japanese colonial period. This means that former President Moon's father was a government official even before liberation during the Japanese colonial era."

He continued, "Many Korean youths, wanting to escape their status and poverty and fully utilize their abilities, chose to become public officials despite the Japanese colonial rule. Former President Moon's father was one of them," and said, "The same applies to General Baek. The Democratic Party is labeling General Baek as a pro-Japanese collaborator simply because he served in the Gando Special Unit, but by 1943, when General Baek was assigned to the Gando Special Unit, there were no independence fighters left in that area."

Voices pointing out public fatigue over the expanding ideological controversies, following the controversy over relocating General Hong Beom-do's bust, have also emerged. Former lawmaker Yoo Seung-min said on KBS's "Choi Kyung-young's Strong Current Affairs," "I hope the ruling and opposition parties can reach an agreement on some principles and standards of history," adding, "Regarding historical evaluation, we should take a broader view and positively assess it. No one is without a past, so we need to evaluate positively, but now they are focusing on General Hong Beom-do, so how do you think the public feels about this?"

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