'No vandalism': Minister calls for due process in removing statue of communist composer

Veterans Minister Park Min-shik answers a lawmaker's question during an audit at the National Assembly in Seoul, Friday. Park, on Sunday, called for a measured response and due process in taking down the “unconstitutional” statue of a communist composer, saying vandalism won’t help achieve the goal. Yonhap

Patriots and Veterans Affairs Minister Park Min-shik has called for a measured response and due process in taking down the “unconstitutional” statue of a communist composer, saying vandalism won’t help achieve the goal.

Kim posted the message on social media, Sunday, after officials in Gwangju found the statue of Korean-born Chinese composer Jeong Yul-seong had apparently been vandalized the previous day, the second time this month.

Jeong, known as an independence fighter for Korea, is a controversial figure due to his post-independence activities including composing military songs for China and North Korea.

“Under the law, we recommended for the city government in Gwangju to suspend the project commemorating Jeong Yul-seong and take down relevant facilities,” Park said. “One of our legal bases was Paragraph 1, Article 1 of the Constitution that states ‘The Republic of Korea shall be a democratic republic.’”

He said the statue violates the spirit of the Constitution and will be removed as soon as all the necessary procedures are completed.

“But if someone damages a public facility just because it is not aligned with their political or religious beliefs, the act would be treated as vandalism, which would give those who set up the unconstitutional statue an excuse (to keep it),” Park said. “Please leave the matter to the central and city governments in Gwangju.”

The statue was restored after being damaged on Sept. 1 by a conservative activist who was apparently angered by its presence. The prosecution has been reviewing whether to indict him.

The city government in the liberal stronghold has been pushing to build a park named after Jeong with a budget of 4.8 billion won ($3.6 million), citing his contributions to the fight against Japan’s colonial rule. It is also constructing a memorial hall on a street named after him near his birth home.

Speaking to reporters last week, Park called on city officials to immediately suspend all related activities, saying Jeong “runs counter to the identity” of South Korea.