Yoon Praises Rhee Syngman as "The One Who Laid the Foundation of Korea's Nuclear Power"

First Mention of Former President Rhee Syngman at the People's Livelihood Forum
Both Ruling and Opposition Parties Highlight Former Presidents' Achievements Before General Election

President Yoon Suk-yeol said on the 22nd, "Many people commonly remember the start of nuclear power generation as April 1978 with Kori Unit 1, but the person who actually laid the foundation for our country's nuclear power was former President Rhee Syngman." This statement is interpreted as being related to the release of films about former Presidents Rhee Syngman and Kim Dae-jung ahead of the general election, as well as political circles promoting them.

On the same day, President Yoon made these remarks while starting the 14th public livelihood discussion forum under the theme "Revitalizing the Nuclear Power Industry, Vibrant Changwon and Gyeongnam" at the Gyeongnam Provincial Government Office in Changwon. Although President Yoon has introduced former President Park Chung-hee's industrialization achievements at previous livelihood forums, this is the first time he mentioned former President Rhee.

President Yoon stated, "Former President Rhee, who foresaw the future of nuclear power, signed the Korea-US Atomic Energy Agreement in 1956 and established the Atomic Energy Institute and the Nuclear Research Institute in 1959, paving the way for nuclear power. He also established nuclear engineering departments at Seoul National University and Hanyang University, laying the foundation for research and development. This was truly an extraordinary insight."

He continued, "Following this, former President Park Chung-hee established the first long-term nuclear power plan in 1969, which boosted our nuclear power industry. The nuclear power that started this way supplied cheap and high-quality electricity, becoming the driving force that led South Korea to become one of the world's top 10 economies."

On the other hand, regarding the previous Moon Jae-in administration's nuclear phase-out policy, he pointed out, "Changwon is a key city for the important nuclear power industry. However, when I visited Changwon shortly after taking office, I was greatly shocked. Due to the reckless nuclear phase-out policy of the previous administration, the local nuclear power industry was, in a word, in a state of collapse." He especially raised the level of criticism by saying, "Ideologically obsessed and unscientific governance caused world-class nuclear power facilities to be abandoned and plunged companies and people's livelihoods into crisis and hardship."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

President Yoon has recently been repeatedly emphasizing former President Rhee's achievements. Regarding the film "The Founding War," which depicts former President Rhee's life, he reportedly told his aides that it was "an opportunity to correctly understand history." On the 10th of this year, during the Lunar New Year holiday, he visited the Marine Cheongryong Unit (2nd Division) and mentioned, "This is a historic unit that received the title 'Invincible Marines' from President Rhee Syngman." Last year, he also donated 5 million won to the project for building the Rhee Syngman Presidential Memorial Hall.

In this way, both the ruling and opposition parties are highlighting the achievements of former Presidents Rhee Syngman and Kim Dae-jung ahead of the general election, aiming to consolidate their support bases. On the 10th of last month, the film "Kim Dae-jung on the Road," depicting former President Kim's life, was released, and opposition politicians such as Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party, former Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum, and Gwangju Mayor Kang Ki-jung gathered. On the ruling party side, politicians including Han Dong-hoon, emergency committee chairman of the People Power Party, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, and Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Yoo In-chon all watched "The Founding War," which was released on the 1st of this month.

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