Lawmaker Kim Sung-ju of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) said August 13, “As far as I know, President Park Geun-hye has never apologetically admitted
that his father Park Chung-hee, former S. Korean President
, was ‘Takagi Masao,’ who was commissioned as a lieutenant into the Manchukuo Imperial Army, set up by Japan.
What’s more, President Park has never made an apology for the May 16 coup (a military coup d'état in South Korea in 1961) which his father organized and carried out, nullifying the constitution.
“I am astonished by S. Korea’s ability to make a political football out of the undertaking of liquidating the legacies of pro-Japanese national traitors and establishing historical truth and justice. On the other hand, I’d like to learn how to remain as brazen as they are. We need to seek apologies not only from the Japanese government but also from within,” Kim added.
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“The S. Korea government is ardently resorting to fear mongering tactics, demonizing North Korea. President Park and the government should lay out a vision for the future of this nation,” he continued.
As regards NPAD lawmaker Hong Young-pyo’s public apologies for his grandfather’s pro-Japanese activities, Kim mentioned: “It was a courageous confession.”
“Don’t forget what pro-Japanese collaborators did during Japan’s colonial rule of Korea. Please watch what path their descendants are walking down. I feel ashamed of my grand fathers’ pro-Japanese activities but I will use my shame in loving this country more,” Hong wrote on Facebook on August 11.
“I beg for forgiveness from everyone who had been victimized by my grandfather’s pro-Japanese activities. I fully accept the fact that it is my destiny to come clean about my family background whenever the opportunity arises and make an apology for that as a descendant of a pro-Japanese collaborator,” Hong added.
