10m Park Chung-hee Statue Planned for Installation in Front of Gyeongbuk Provincial Office

Gyeongbuk Province Accepts Private Organizations' Request to Erect Statues

The construction of a Park Chung-hee statue in front of the Gyeongbuk Provincial Office is being promoted. Daegu Mayor Hong Jun-pyo announced that he would independently proceed with the construction of the statue of former President Park, leading the civic group that originally planned to erect the statue to shift their efforts to Andong, where the Gyeongbuk Provincial Office is located.

The Park Chung-hee Statue Construction Promotion Committee (hereafter Parkdongchu) announced in a press release on the 18th that they had agreed with Gyeongbuk Governor Lee Cheol-woo in March to erect a Park Chung-hee statue in the plaza in front of the Gyeongbuk Provincial Office.

The province noted that since there is also a statue of former President Kim Dae-jung in front of the Jeonnam Provincial Office, there would be no issues with a civic group erecting a statue at the provincial office.

Statue of former President Park Chung-hee stored in Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do
Photo by Yonhap News

Parkdongchu, launched in November last year, consists of about 300 promotion committee members from various sectors in the Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions. They initially planned to build the statue in Daegu. However, after Daegu City declared it would proceed with the statue construction using city funds, Parkdongchu shifted the location to in front of the Gyeongbuk Provincial Office.

The group plans to cover the construction costs through fundraising. To facilitate fundraising and promotion, they intend to establish regional headquarters in cities and counties across Gyeongbuk.

The statue is expected to be about 10 meters tall, with the phrase "The Great Master Planner of National Revival Park Chung-hee (1917?1979)" inscribed on the lower front and former President Park’s lifetime quotes on the lower back. The promotion committee aims to raise 1 billion won in donations and plans to hold the second inauguration ceremony and representatives' meeting of the committee at 3 p.m. on the 19th in the multipurpose hall of Anmin-gwan at the Gyeongbuk Provincial Office.

About 200 promotion committee members from 22 cities and counties in Gyeongbuk are expected to attend the event, and the unveiling of the statue is targeted for November 14, the birthdate of President Park Chung-hee. After the unveiling ceremony, an international conference themed "The Global Historical Significance of the Park Chung-hee Model" is planned.

The Democratic Party of Korea’s Gyeongbuk Provincial Party issued a critical statement titled "Agreement on Park Chung-hee Statue Construction at Gyeongbuk Provincial Office, Governor Lee Cheol-woo Must Clarify the Facts" on the same day.

In the statement, the Gyeongbuk Provincial Party said, "Former President Park was not only responsible for violently suppressing citizens demanding liberal democracy but also for provoking disastrous regionalism to maintain long-term rule. Since his legacy is highly controversial, public consensus and opinion gathering should precede any action, but Gyeongbuk Province is persistently engaging in unilateral idolization."

Promotional material for the inauguration ceremony of the 2nd term of the Presidential Park Chung-hee Statue Construction Promotion Committee and the delegation meeting.
[Photo by Park Dong-chu]

Earlier, on March 5, Mayor Hong stated at a press conference, "The statue construction is unrelated to some civic groups’ efforts and will be decided independently through discussions with the city council under Daegu City’s leadership," adding, "The idea of making it with citizens’ donations proposed by some civic groups is nonsense."

The Daegu City Council approved a budget of 1.45 billion won related to the "Daegu City Park Chung-hee Memorial Project Amendment Ordinance," which includes erecting the statue in front of the Daegu Representative Library, located at the plaza in front of Dongdaegu Station and on the site of the former US military base in Nam-gu Daemyeong-dong.

However, the "Anti-Park Chung-hee Idolization Project Pan-Civic Movement Headquarters," consisting of 57 organizations including civic groups, labor unions, and progressive parties in the Daegu area, opposes the statue construction.

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