Recently, there is a controversy that the National Daejeon Prefectural Center neglected protests by civic groups over the issue of the demolition of the’tomb of the late General Paik Seon-yup’. In addition, the situation took place as Democratic Party lawmakers are pushing for revision of related laws in the direction of punishing disturbances in national cemeteries.
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On the 5th, members of the National Institute of Ethnic Studies presented the history of General Baek’s Manchurian Military Academy in front of General Baek’s grave in Daejeon Prefectural Center. Protests with a banner stating “Anti-ethnic actor Paik Seon-yeop, take over at the National Cemetery”Did it. In particular, they insisted that the Daejeon Prefectural Center’s installation of information boards for General Baek’s graveyard was a “preferential” and that it would be demolished immediately.
![On the 5th, in front of the graveyard of General Paik Seon-yup in the precincts of the National Daejeon Prefectural Center, members of the National Research Institute of Ethnic Affairs hung up a banner and insisted on the removal of the'tombstone information board'. [유튜브 화면 캡처]](https://i0.wp.com/pds.joins.com/news/component/htmlphoto_mmdata/202102/08/5d9e80e5-e991-4a48-934a-235142dbdebd.jpg?w=560&ssl=1)
On the 5th, in front of the graveyard of General Paik Seon-yup in the precincts of the National Daejeon Prefectural Center, members of the National Research Institute of Ethnic Affairs hung up a banner and insisted on the removal of the’tombstone information board’. [유튜브 화면 캡처]
Some participants “Is (Daejeon Cemetery) mobilizing all the staff to protect the Paik Seon-yup cemetery? Doesn’t the independence activist’s cemetery be kindly guided?”I protested with a loud voice. One internet media filmed and edited this content and posted it on YouTube. (*Video address: https://youtu.be/RdjupiqpOX4)
Article 20 of the National Cemetery ActAccording to the report, “anyone in the grounds of the National Cemetery should not perform dance, entertainment, or other acts that may harm the dignity of the National Cemetery.” As it is a memorial space to honor the spirit of the country “The Dignity of the National Cemetery”It is a provision made to protect If this is violated, the head of the management may be restrained or removed to reverence.
However, on that day, several officials from the Daejeon Prefectural Center came to the scene, but it was controversial as they did not disperse the protesters. Put this There are criticisms that “Daejeon Cemetery has not taken appropriate measures while virtually neglecting the turmoil.”
Regarding this, the Ministry of Veterans Affairs said, “At the time, there was a verbal warning to deter the protests, but there was a limit to active responses such as eviction measures due to concerns about physical conflict due to strong opposition from the organizers.” There is insufficient grounds for mobilizing penalties or coercion“Said the position.
Currently, a revised bill containing punishment rules is pending in the National Assembly. December last year 10 Democratic Party lawmakers such as Shin Dong-geun, Kim Jong-min, and Song Young-gil initiatedAs an amendment, according to this Imprisonment for up to 3 years or a fine of up to 30 million won for failure to comply with the eviction orderBe in. In this regard, a government official who wanted to remain anonymous said, “The reason that the ruling party lawmakers went to legalization was when President Moon Jae-in attended a memorial service on Memorial Day. To prevent conservative groups from protestingHe said, “I didn’t think that a pro-female group would be a problem like this one.”
On the 5th, a member of the National Institute of National Affairs and others held a demonstration on the grounds of the National Daejeon Prefectural Center and requested the removal of the signpost to the grave of General Paik Seon-yeop. The photo shows the place where the information board pillar was embedded. Freelancer Seongtae Kim
Meanwhile, the Daejeon Prefectural Center accepted the request of the Institute for National Studies and demolished the information board at the grave of General Paik Seon-yup on the day of the demonstration. Regarding this, the Ministry of Veterans Affairs explained, “The information board for General Paik Seon-yup’s grave was temporarily installed for convenience as the number of worshipers increased.”
However, even after this, inside and outside the government, “There are some information boards notifying of private graves not only in the Daejeon Memorial Center but also in the Seoul Memorial Center, It is difficult to understand only the act of noticing the passport that only picked up the information board of General Baek’s grave and took it out hastily.“A criticism comes out.
Reporters Cheoljae Lee and Sangjin Kim [email protected]