Descendants of Independence Activists to Return Korea Military Academy Honorary Graduation Certificates

Descendants of Yoon Gi-seop, Ji Cheong-cheon, and Lee Sang-ryong Visit Military Academy on 15th
Protest Against Relocation of General Hong Beom-do's Bust

Descendants of independence activists Yoon Gi-seop and Lee Sang-ryong, as well as General Ji Cheong-cheon, announced on the 15th that they will return the honorary graduation certificates awarded to their ancestors by the Korea Military Academy. This is in protest against the academy's decision to remove the bust of General Hong Beom-do and relocate it outside the school, and to move the busts of Generals Kim Jwa-jin, Ji Cheong-cheon, Lee Beom-seok, and Shinheung Military Academy founder Lee Hoe-young to other locations within the campus.

Jung Cheol-seung, a lawyer and grandson of Yoon Gi-seop, told Yonhap News on the 14th, "I will visit the Korea Military Academy tomorrow (the 15th) at 3 p.m. to return the honorary graduation certificate."

General Hong Beom-do's bust displayed at the War Memorial of Seoul
[Photo by Yonhap News]

In March 2018, the Korea Military Academy awarded these independence activists honorary graduation certificates, stating, "The noble patriotism and steadfast military spirit you have personally demonstrated have become a true model soldier for cadets who wish to walk the path of devoted military service to the nation."

Lawyer Jung criticized, "The Korea Military Academy venerates those who staged a coup, trampled on the constitution, and massacred civilians as respectable seniors, and regards the Military English School under the U.S. military government, which included Manchurian and Japanese troops, as its origin."

He added, "Returning the honorary graduation certificates is a formal declaration that the Korea Military Academy no longer has any place to interfere in carrying on the noble intentions of the independence activists."

Yoon Gi-seop (1887?1959) was an independence activist who founded the Shinheung Military Academy during the Japanese colonial period to train military talents. He served as Deputy Minister of Military Affairs of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea in 1943 and as Chairman of the Provisional Government's State Council Standing Committee in 1944.

Lee Sang-ryong (1858?1932) participated in the establishment of the Shinheung Military Academy and served as the first State Councilor of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea. He left a will stating, "Do not bring my remains back to the homeland until the country is restored," and died in martyrdom.

General Ji Cheong-cheon (1888?1957) was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Korean Independence Army in 1930 and united with the Chinese Volunteer Army to conduct independence warfare mainly in the northern Manchuria area near Harbin. When the Korean Liberation Army was established as the regular army of the Provisional Government in 1940, he was appointed Commander-in-Chief and led the Korean Liberation Army until shortly after liberation.

Photo by Jeong Cheol-seung

Earlier, on August 31, the Korea Military Academy announced, "The bust of General Hong Beom-do will be relocated to an appropriate place outside the academy that reflects the academy's identity and honors his achievements as an independence fighter. The busts of the other five generals, including General Hong, will be moved to suitable locations within the academy grounds." The Independence Hall of Korea has been mentioned as a possible relocation site.

Meanwhile, according to a nationwide survey (NBS, with a 95% confidence level and a margin of error of ±3.1 percentage points) conducted by polling agencies Embrain Public, K-stat Research, Korea Research, and Hankook Research from the 11th to the 13th among 1,002 adults aged 18 and older nationwide, 58% of respondents opposed relocating the bust of General Hong Beom-do from the Korea Military Academy campus. Supporters accounted for 26%, and 17% were unsure or did not respond.

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