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| Visitors commemorate former President Park Chung-hee in his birthplace located in Gumi City, North Gyeongsang Province, in 2019. Korea Times file |
By Lee Yeon-woo
The southeastern city of Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province has become embroiled in criticism for its plan to build another memorial center for former President Park Chung-hee at a cost of 100 billion won ($ 81.94 million).
Given that the industrial city has already invested 120 billion won in various projects such as establishing an archive and a park to commemorate the Gumi-born former president, critics have accused the new plan of being a waste of taxpayers' money.
Earlier this week, the city devised a plan to prepare a "dignified" place where people can honor Park and his philosophy.
"To match his status, we will create a new memorial as a tourist attraction which can represent Korea, by connecting the nearby Saemaeul Movement-themed park, the presidential museum, and the birthplace," Gumi City Mayor Kim Jang-ho said.
His birthplace, which has been memorialized, attracts around 200,000 visitors annually and has received 4.25 million visitors to date, Kim said.
The city further explained that there are safety concerns over the existing memorial site, which is confined and on a slope.
President Yoon Suk Yeol also commented that the memorial site is "too small" after visiting Gumi City on Wednesday. He requested that the mayor and local congressmen seek ways to improve it.
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| President Yoon Suk Yeol bows in respect to former President Park Chung-hee at his birthplace located in Gumi City, North Gyeongsang Province, Wednesday. Courtesy of the presidential office |
Park Chung-hee is a controversial figure in Korea's modern history. Park is praised, mostly by conservatives, for having led the extraordinary surge in the Korean economy during the 1960s and 1970s. However, liberals criticize him as a dictator who suppressed democracy for almost two decades. He is also the father of the former impeached President Park Geun-Hye.
Politics aside, Gumi City's financial situation has been called into question.
The city has 206.5 billion won of debt as of 2021, the highest debt among all the cities in North Gyeongsang Province.
Civic organizations in Gumi City strongly oppose the decisions. They said the mayor should cancel the plan and focus more on policies that can stabilize the livelihood of the public and recover the economy.
"Gumi City already poured more than 100 billion won into building a memorial place, a museum, and a theme park," the Gumi headquarters of People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy said. "Some of the facilities are operated by North Gyeongsang Province local government, as the city has failed to secure a budget and develop content."
"People are suffering from the continuous fare hikes in gas, oil, and electricity. We are frustrated as the mayor is bent on honoring Park while the number of jobs is declining as most companies are transferring to the capital," a representative of the Gumi YMCA said.
"If you want to truly honor him, you should emulate his spirit. Establishing his statue, displaying his artifacts, and constructing a memorial place doesn't make people's lives better," it added.
As the controversy intensifies, Gumi City explained that it has "responsibilities to prepare a dignified memorial place as a city which has produced Park," and that it "will raise funds later not only at the central and local government's expense but also from voluntary donations."
The city added that the detailed construction plans have not yet been confirmed. "We are selecting a service company (which will take charge of construction). After that, we will start to discuss the details," an official from the city told The Korea Times.
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