Korea Military Academy Decides to Keep General Hong Beomdo's Bust on Academy Grounds

"To Remain Within the Academy,
But Specific Location Undecided"

The Korea Military Academy has decided to keep the bust of General Hong Beomdo on its premises. However, it has been reported that the specific location of the bust within the academy has not yet been determined.

Yonhap News

According to political sources on May 26, the academy responded to a request for information from the office of Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Jung Sung-ho regarding the "retention and possible relocation of the busts of General Hong Beomdo and other independence activists within the academy," stating, "We plan to keep the busts on the academy grounds."

Previously, during the Moon Jae-in administration in 2018, the bust of General Hong Beomdo was installed in front of Chungmugwan at the academy, alongside the busts of other independence activists such as Generals Ji Cheongcheon, Lee Beomseok, Kim Jwajin, and Lee Hoeyoung. However, after the Yoon Suk-yeol administration took office, concerns were raised within the ruling party over General Hong's past affiliation with the Soviet Communist Party, leading to a decision to move the bust outside the academy. As public opposition to this decision grew, the relocation was not carried out.

In response to a question from Asia Economy about whether the bust of General Hong Beomdo would remain in its current location, the Army stated, "As of now, as indicated in our response to the lawmaker's office, it has been decided that the bust will remain within the academy." The Army added, "It has not yet been decided whether it will stay in front of Chungmugwan or be moved to another location within the academy."

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