INTERVIEW Incident may harm ROK-US alliance
By Oh Young-jin
Kim Jong-wook
The recently disrupted concert meant to celebrate a key U.S. military unit’s centennial could trigger a bout of anti-Korean sentiment in the United States, a keen observer told The Korea Times Wednesday.
“We should put ourselves in their shoes,” Kim Jong-wook, president of the KATUSA Veterans Association, said. “Naturally, they would feel unappreciated for their service. After all, they are here, being a half world away from home, to defend Korea.”
On Saturday, Uijeongbu, the city north of Seoul, which is home to the U.S. Army 2nd Infantry Division, hosted a farewell concert for its members ahead of its centennial in October. Most of the Korean performers canceled their participation after receiving a flood of protests triggered by NGOs.
The civic groups demanded the singers stay away, arguing that the concert was preempted by the 15th anniversary of two Korean girls who were crushed to death by a U.S. armored vehicle in 2002.
“If the American public find out about what happened, I would have little doubt that they would want their children home,” Kim said. Kim has led the organization of tens of thousands of veterans who served with GIs under the Korean Augmentation to the U.S. Army, a program dating back to the 1950-53 Korean War.
Kim met with the top brass of the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) after the concert and they expressed their “understanding” about the situation, the same diplomatic subterfuge used by Washington about Korea’s abrupt decision to delay the U.S. missile interceptor deployment.
“What would hundreds of U.S. soldiers have felt? It is nothing less than humiliation,” Kim said.
President Moon Jae-in said through his spokesman the incident was regretful but that the broad-based alliance between the two countries shouldn’t be affected by it. Moon made his scheduled visit to the ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command and emphasized their long-lasting partnership.
The CFC visit comes ahead of his June 29 to 30 visit to Washington, D.C., for a summit with his U.S. counterpart, Donald Trump, who is poles apart from Moon on some key issues. Kim wished that the President had expressed his regret more forcefully.
Kim said that the ROK-U.S. alliance has served as the bedrock for Korea’s security but lately it is being underappreciated. “Americans came to our rescue with many of them having made the ultimate sacrifice,” he said. “For more than 60 years since the war, they have been here as well. We shouldn’t take it for granted.” Kim has recently helped organize the Korea Defense Veterans Association in Washington, for 3 million Korean War veterans in the U.S. and Korea. Ten former USFK and US 8th Army commanders belong to its board with retired general Walter Sharp being its chairman.
Popular singer, Insooni, and Crying Nut, a punk band, took the stage to make apologies for not being able to perform as scheduled at the centennial concert, while others didn’t show up. They were attacked online and urged to cancel their gigs in tribute to the two girls who were killed — Hyosun and Misun. Their memorial was held as scheduled Tuesday.
The concert was brought to an end about 30 minutes earlier than scheduled. The audience composed of GIs and Korean soldiers together with top USFK commanders were left in the dark about the disruption and remained bewildered. Uijeongbu City said that the concert was held ahead of the unit’s anniversary in October because by then most of the U.S. soldiers would be in Pyeongtaek, their new base. It plans to file a complaint against the NGOs.