During Martial Law, 10th 'Park Jeonghee Statue' Unveiled... Yoon's Floral Tribute Draws Attention

It was revealed belatedly that President Yoon Suk-yeol sent a congratulatory wreath to the unveiling ceremony of former President Park Chung-hee's statue two days after declaring martial law. Former President Park had declared martial law five times during his tenure.

On the morning of the 5th, attendees are unveiling the statue of President Park Chung-hee at the unveiling ceremony held in the Millennium Forest in front of the Gyeongbuk Provincial Government Office in Andong-si, Gyeongbuk. Photo by Yonhap News

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On the 5th, Yonhap News reported, "At the unveiling ceremony of former President Park's statue held in the Millennium Forest in front of the Gyeongbuk Provincial Office in Andong, Gyeongbuk, a congratulatory wreath from President Yoon was spotted on one side of the venue." President Yoon's congratulatory speech was planned for the ceremony and was to be read by Jeon Gwang-sam, Senior Secretary for Civil Society at the Presidential Office, but it was completely canceled. This appears to reflect the situation where the Chief of Staff and senior secretaries of the Presidential Office collectively tendered their resignations the day before due to the aftermath of the declaration and lifting of martial law.

The 8.2-meter-high statue unveiled that day is the eighth statue of former President Park installed in the Gyeongbuk region. It was produced with 2 billion won raised through a fundraising campaign by the 'Park Chung-hee Statue Construction Promotion Committee.' The statue was created by Lee Sang-il, a former professor at Daegu Catholic University and a judge of the Korea Art Exhibition (Gukjeon), and Lee Sang-ho, an artist who received the Presidential Award. The casting work was carried out by the studio that produced the King Sejong statue in Gwanghwamun, Seoul.

Engraved at the base of the statue is the phrase "Great President Park Chung-hee who overcame 5,000 years of poverty," and behind it stand background stones listing twelve major achievements of former President Park. Notably, the background stones refer to the 1961 "May 16 military coup" as the "May 16 Revolution," stating, "May 16 was a comprehensive national reform revolution characterized as a modernization revolution, national revival revolution, industrial revolution, and national reconstruction revolution of the Republic of Korea."

On the morning of the 5th, a congratulatory flower wreath from President Yoon Seok-yeol was placed at the unveiling ceremony of the statue of President Park Chung-hee held at Cheonnyeon Forest in front of the Gyeongbuk Provincial Government Office in Andong-si, Gyeongbuk. Photo by Yonhap News

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Kim Hyung-gi, honorary professor at Kyungpook National University and head of the promotion committee, said, "I am pleased to erect the statue of President Park, an outstanding statesman who overcame 5,000 years of poverty and a great chief architect of national revival," adding, "Erecting the statue of President Park Chung-hee is to inherit and spread his spirit to future generations, not 'idolization of Park Chung-hee' but 'normalization of Park Chung-hee.'" On the other hand, Kim Heon-taek, executive representative of the Andong Citizens' Solidarity, held a press conference at the site that day and criticized, "The people stopped the martial law declared by Yoon Suk-yeol, whom we no longer even want to call president, on the 3rd," and said, "A statue of a controversial figure associated with martial law, who suppressed independence fighters and killed and oppressed numerous workers and democratic activists, should not be erected here."

Meanwhile, there are currently ten statues of former President Park Chung-hee erected nationwide. Among them, eight are installed in Gyeongbuk, including Cheongdo, Gyeongju, Pohang, Gumi, and Gyeongsan. In Gumi, more than 120 billion won has been invested solely in projects commemorating former President Park.

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