[2023 National Audit] Instead of the Army, 'Hong Beom-do National Audit'... Ruling and Opposition Clash Over Ideology

National Defense Committee of the National Assembly, Army Headquarters and Korea Military Academy Audit
Ruling Party: "Nonsense Project"...Opposition: "Stop Ideological Debate"
Army Chief of Staff: "Relocating the Bust is to Correct Identity"

During the National Assembly audit of the Army Headquarters, a political dispute between the ruling and opposition parties continued over the 'Hong Beom-do bust.' General Park Jeong-hwan, Chief of Staff of the Army, expressed respect for General Hong's achievements, including his anti-Japanese resistance, but stated that it is inappropriate to have his bust within the Korea Military Academy.

On the 23rd, at the National Defense Committee audit held at Gyeryongdae in Chungnam, in response to a question from Ki Dong-min, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, General Park said, "The achievements of General Hong and others in the anti-Japanese struggle and the independence movement are great and should be respected," but added, "However, the bust of General Hong at the Korea Military Academy is not appropriate."

General Park Jung-hwan, Chief of Staff of the Army [Image source=Yonhap News]

He continued, "In the severe security situation, cadets at the Korea Military Academy graduate without studying the Korean War and North Korean studies, yet a bust of someone with a communist background is specially erected. Is this really in line with the education of cadets and the founding purpose of the academy?" He emphasized, "I hope this is understood as part of correcting an act that clouds the perspective on the enemy and shakes the identity of the academy, rather than just looking at a single bust."

In response to repeated questions from opposition lawmakers pressing, "Didn’t the president say to stop ideological disputes and focus on people’s livelihoods?" General Park countered, "We have never raised issues about the statue of General Ahn Jung-geun," and said, "The problem arises because it is General Hong’s bust." He also added, "Establishing the perspective on the enemy and the identity of the academy is also part of 'people’s livelihoods.'"

Democratic Party lawmakers Song Ok-joo and Kim Byung-joo raised suspicions of external pressure, claiming that the Korea Military Academy was considering relocating the Hong Beom-do bust within the campus but changed direction to move it outside after being summoned in July by Shin Won-sik, then a member of the People Power Party (now Minister of National Defense). On the other hand, ruling party lawmakers actively defended the academy’s position, arguing that the bust’s installation itself was originally due to intervention by the Moon Jae-in administration.

People Power Party lawmaker Lee Heon-seung pointed out, "The academy began considering the installation of the bust on January 16, 2018, and considering that the bust was completed at the bust maintenance workshop on February 26 and installed on the 27th, the construction was pushed forward in almost a month." He added, "Looking at the specific progress, it turned out that there was no separate evaluation or review content regarding the selection of the figure."

October 23rd, National Assembly National Defense Committee audit held at the Army Headquarters, Gyeryongdae, Chungnam
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Currently, at the entrance of 'Chungmugwan,' an educational facility for cadets at the Korea Military Academy, busts of five armed independence activists from the Japanese colonial period?Generals Hong Beom-do, Kim Jwa-jin, Ji Cheong-cheon, Lee Beom-seok, and activist Lee Hoe-young?are erected. These busts were installed during the Moon Jae-in administration. The Ministry of National Defense currently states, "There was insufficient consensus when the busts were installed, and General Hong has a history of membership in the former Soviet Communist Party," expressing the need for relocation.

Along with the Ministry of National Defense, the Korea Military Academy has also decided to move General Hong’s bust to "an appropriate location that can better highlight his independence movement achievements" according to the campus facility maintenance plan. The Independence Hall located in Cheonan, Chungnam, is being considered as the relocation site. However, Han Si-jun, director of the Independence Hall, stated at the National Assembly’s Political Affairs Committee audit on the 13th, "To properly cultivate the spirit of our military, it would be better to keep the bust at the Korea Military Academy."

In response to related questions, Kwon Young-ho, principal of the Korea Military Academy, said, "The director of the Independence Hall was directly involved and consulted on the installation of the (Hong Beom-do) bust," and dismissed the opinion as "not objective." He added, "Considering that the bust was installed in just one and a half months during the Moon Jae-in administration, was a non-budget project, and did not go through committee procedures, it seems it was pushed forward hastily," maintaining the same position as General Park that it should be relocated.

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