“Correcting History” in the Roh Moo-hyun Style?

President Roh chose the “probe of Japanophilism and malpractices by autocracy” as topics to open his congratulatory address of August 15’s Independence Day.

President Roh emphasized the importance of the liquidation of the Japanophilism history in his address. “Even now when we are meeting the 60th anniversary of our independence, those families who participated in the independence movement are suffering from poverty for three generations, while those who acted on Japanophilism are enjoying their wealth for three generations. We are still not free of such ‘recognition of reversed history,’” he said.

It can be seen as a declaration of “correcting history in the Roh Moo-hyun style” that he specifically suggested a special committee in the National Assembly to handle human right violations and malpractices during past autocracy regimes as well as Japanophilism during Japanese occupation.

Cheong Wa-dae explains, “Since past history has caused controversies, he (President Roh) took Independence Day as an opportunity to express his view of our nation and history.” Nonetheless, President Roh, in his address, supported the Uri Party who has recently been surfacing these issues, and this will have to be regarded as an “aggressive effort to make issues of these.”

In his address during last year’s Independence Day ceremony, President Roh said, “We should not repeat the shameful history of ours and for that, we should strengthen our economy and defense power,” and he chose future-oriented issues such as the “$20,000 per capita income era” and “self-defense” for the opening of his address.

Therefore, it doesn’t appear irrelevant to “the ruling party’s attack on past history” that President Roh mentioned this year the liquidation of past history. From such a context, the liquidation of past history is suspected as an intention to reveal stigmas of so-called “contributors of our industrialization” and continue to ultimately “dissolve the main stream power.”

In particular, the GNP, who is rooted in the ex-ruling power, will not be able to avoid this liquidation of past history completely. As an immediate impact, Park Geun-hye, the GNP leader, is now suffering from investigations regarding the “Chongsoo Scholarship Foundation.”

President Roh’s address in the ceremony is also expected to raise controversy regarding the priority of the government affairs.

President Roh has recently expressed his intention to focus on long-term tasks after having Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan handle routine tasks. By emphasizing the liquidation of the past history in his Independence ceremony address, however, President Roh is admitting that he is playing “a game of chasing two rabbits simultaneously” that is “grabbing both the past and the future.” There are some concerned voices heard criticizing that the address did nothing but disturb the focus of national affairs management.

President Roh did not make any comments on the recent issue of Chinese distortions of the Goguryo history.

Meanwhile, the realization of the special committee suggested by President Roh is not sure, as the GNP is opposing to it although the Uri Party is aggressively pursuing it.

The Uri Party decided on the same day to form a taskforce in its policy board to support the president’s suggestion for the special committee consisting of both the ruling and the opposite parties. Once the committee is launched, 13 pending laws that are currently filed to the National Assembly regarding the Donghak Revolution, Jeju April 3rd Massacre and pro-Japanese activities during the colonialism will be handled all together under the committee.

However, GNP secretary general Kim Hyung-oh made his party’s stance clear, saying, “It is hard to know whether the president is trying to unite our nation or trying to separate it. (The committee) will only increase segregation and confrontation.”

Jung-Hun Kim Young-Chan Yoon jnghn@donga.com yyc11@donga.com