Yoon, mentor at odds over army cadets saluting independence fighter with leftist past

Lee Jong-chan, president of the non-profit organization, Heritage of Korean Independence, speaks in this 2019 file photo. He is the father of President Yoon Suk Yeol's old friend and one of Yoon's go-to people when he mulled a presidential bid two years ago. Korea Times file

President's ties with ex-spy chief tested by relocation of independence fighter's bust

By Kang Hyun-kyung

The defense ministry's decision to relocate the bust of independence fighter Hong Beom-do has pitted President Yoon Suk Yeol against his adviser and old friend.

Yoon reportedly calls Lee Jong-chan, 87, president of the non-profit organization, Heritage of Korean Independence (HKI), "father" when they meet privately. Lee is the father of Yoon's long-time friend, Lee Chul-woo, a professor of law at Yonsei University.

The older Lee, a former five-term lawmaker and ex-director of the National Intelligence Service during the Kim Dae-jung government, was one of Yoon's go-to people when he mulled a presidential bid in 2021 after resigning as prosecutor-general.

Yoon's relationship with the two Lees is being tested as they have become unwittingly entangled in an ideological dispute over the relocation of the bust of the independence fighter.

The older Lee is an outspoken opponent of the plan.

In a strongly-worded letter disclosed on HKI's website on Aug. 27, Lee warned of the consequences if Defense Minister Lee Jong-sub proceeded with the plan to relocate the bust of the independence fighter from the Korea Military Academy (KMA) to an "unidentified but appropriate place."

"If the defense ministry removes it as announced and if it has any plan to replace it with the bust of figures like Gen. Paik Sun-yeop, I won't sit back," he said in the letter.

Lee claimed that Gen. Paik is a self-serving military general and his contribution to the country is not comparable to what the independence fighter had done for the nation.

"I agree with others who believe that Gen. Paik achieved a remarkable feat during the Korean War," the letter read. "But I understand that the driving force behind his career choice in the military was not patriotism. He became a soldier for personal success. That being said, he didn't care about being a loyal member of imperial Japan as long as he could succeed."

Lee claimed that independence fighters like Hong, however are self-less people.

"They fought for the country because they had a single-minded goal of bringing the nation back from the colonizer," the letter read.

Lee is the descendant of an independence fighter. His grandfather is Lee Hoe-young, a co-founder of Shinheung Military Academy, which trained independence fighters in the northeastern region of China to fight Japanese occupiers. His grandfather is one of the five independence fighters whose busts were set up at the KMA.

President Yoon Suk Yeol, left, is welcomed by members of the Peace Unification Advisory Council as he enters Cheong Wa Dae's sate guest house for a meeting on Tuesday. Yonhap

Earlier, the Ministry of National Defense announced it will remove the busts of five independence fighters, including Hong, from the military academy.

It later altered the plan to relocate only the bust of Hong, while the leaving the remaining four at the military academy, citing Hong's affiliation with the Soviet Union's communist party as a reason to discredit his legacy.

The ministry's rationale is that the KMA is the place where army cadets are trained to become the defenders of free democracy. And for this reason, they are not supposed to salute to a figure like Hong who had a record of sympathizing with the Soviet communist party.

Yoon has yet to comment publicly on the issue.

An official at the presidential office told reporters on Tuesday that Yoon refrained from commenting publicly on the issue, because "if he does, I'm afraid his comments will be seen as an attempt to influence the debate in a certain way."

Yoon, however, is known to have commented on the issue during a closed-door Cabinet meeting.

"I'm not going to say what to do with it. But we need to address the issue and think about the right thing to do," the president was quoted as saying. "I know there are people out there who are negative about bringing up the historical debate. But we are not supposed to let it go if there is something wrong with it."

With this remark, the president indicated that he is on the same page with the defense ministry.

His friend, the law professor, stands by his father.

In a post on his social media account, the younger Lee said he does not harbor hard feelings or anger, whatsoever, toward the defense ministry about the relocation plan. But he added that he stands by the independence fighter.

"As a descendant of independence fighters, I feel no rage or anger toward the military academy's decision to relocate the bust of Hong. But I am trying to figure out who made such a decision and under what circumstances the plan has been pursued," he said.

The two Lees did not target or point directly at the president in their criticism of the relocation plan.

It remains to be seen whether their differences can be resolved.