It was reported on the 30th that President Yoon Seok-yeol expressed his position on the issue of relocating the ‘General Hong Beom-do bust’ by saying, “I will not tell you what to do. However, it would be better to raise the issue and think about what is the right thing to do안전놀이터.”
National Security Office Director Cho Tae-yong attended the general meeting of the National Assembly Steering Committee on this day and reported that President Yoon had mentioned this in relation to the issue of relocating the bust of General Hong to the Ministry of National Defense and the Military Academy at a closed cabinet meeting the previous day.
Regarding the push to relocate the bust, Director Cho said, “The National Security Office does not have a specific policy,” and added, “The Minister of National Defense will take the lead in making the decision.”
Director Cho said, “No one denies Hong Beom-do’s contribution in his life,” but added, “Life after the ‘Jayushi Disaster’ and the special nature of the Military Academy, a place where cadets salute every day and look for people to serve as role models. “The Ministry of National Defense is considering whether it is a good fit and making a decision,” he explained.
The ‘Free City Disaster’ was an incident in June 1921 in which the Russian Communist Far East Republic army massacred the independence army of Free City. The Ministry of National Defense raises suspicions that General Hong is involved in this.
In response to People Power Party lawmaker Seo Jeong-sook’s point that ‘each administration should not confuse the public by setting different standards,’ Director Cho responded, “In fact, I think it would have been better if all these aspects had been filtered out and opinions gathered before the bust was erected in 2018.” He said.
However, he asked, “(Former President Park) worked hard for national development and achieved economic development, making our country, which was mired in poverty, into a large country, so wouldn’t it be appropriate to judge it comprehensively?”
Regarding the relocation of General Hong’s bust, he said, “There is no set policy, and it will not be decided (by the National Security Office).”