President Lee Approves Motion to Dismiss Independence Hall Director Kim Hyungseok

On the 19th, President Lee Jaemyung approved the motion to dismiss Kim Hyungseok, director of the Independence Hall of Korea, who had been at the center of controversy over his New Right view of history. Previously, on the 3rd, the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs held a hearing on Director Kim and, based on its outcome, submitted a recommendation for his dismissal to President Lee on this day.

Yonhap News Agency

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The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs is reported to have cited 14 counts of alleged misconduct as grounds for dismissal, including the controversy over Director Kim allegedly privatizing the Independence Hall of Korea, as well as issues related to budget execution and the use of business promotion expenses that were uncovered in a recent audit. The board of directors of the Independence Hall of Korea also passed a motion recommending his dismissal, citing these audit findings.

Director Kim’s side was reported to have countered at the hearing that the audit was conducted unfairly for the purpose of removing him from office, and that it had nothing to do with the substantive facts.

The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs stated that, following Director Kim’s dismissal, the duties of the director of the Independence Hall of Korea will be carried out by the senior non-standing director, in accordance with the hall’s articles of association. For the time being, Professor Seo Taeho of Daegu University, the grandson of independence activist Seo Janghwan, will serve as acting director, and an executive recommendation committee for the Independence Hall of Korea will be formed to proceed with the process of appointing a new director.

Director Kim was appointed in 2024 under the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, and the ruling bloc has been calling for his resignation, describing him as a New Right scholar with a distorted view of history. In particular, on August 15 last year, during a ceremony at the Independence Hall of Korea marking the 80th anniversary of Liberation Day, he sparked controversy by asserting that "there is also a view that liberation was a gift from the Allied Powers."

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