The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs has acted completely against public sentiment by conferring posthumous honors on relatives of North Korean founder Kim Il-sung.
During a recent National Assembly session, Minister Park Sung-choon said that there was nothing wrong with his ministry’s decision in 2012 to award posthumous decorations to Kim’s uncle, Kang Jin-sok (1890-1942), an independence fighter against Japanese colonial rule and brother of Kim’s mother Kang Pan-sok. In 2011, the ministry also conferred a posthumous award on Kim’s paternal uncle, Kim Hyung-kwon (1905-1936), who was also a colonial-era independence activist.
The minister defended the decision, saying that the decoration had been conferred based on their contribution to the nation as independence activists. He also said that family ties to Kim Il-sung could not be a deciding factor because Kang had died before national division. Park triggered further controversy by saying that even Kim Il-sung’s parents could be considered as candidates for similar honors. Park showed a lack of judgment with remarks that could be interpreted as praising Kim Il-sung’s family and their role in the independence movement against Japanese rule. As a government official in charge of veterans affairs, Park’s remarks were highly inappropriate.
It has been well-documented that Kim Il-sung comes from a family of devout Christians, including his mother, who engaged in the independence movement. In the 1990s, the North Korean regime named schools and villages after Kim’s uncles as part of efforts to idolize Kim Il-sung’s family. It is unacceptable from many Koreans’ point of view that our government has awarded honors to people who enjoy a hero status in North Korea.
The ministry should clarify how it came to award decorations to Kim Il-sung’s family members. Obviously it did not properly screen the background of the honorees.
Although belated, it is the right decision to cancel the decorations. One day after Park defended them, the ministry said that it will seek legal revisions to cancel them as soon as possible.
Minister Park has already caused other controversies that have driven the opposition parties to demand his resignation. He should take necessary measures to swiftly cancel the honors for Kim’s family members and ensure that a similar lapse in screening does not occur with future decorations.