I Became Park Jeong-ui’s Nephew - Chapter 258



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He became Park Jeong-ui’s nephew. – (258)

[Your superior died. How do you feel now? Park Jeong-ui, when Koreans were suffering under Japanese colonial rule, he changed his name to Japanese and pledged loyalty to Emperor Hirohito. After liberation, he acted as a national hero, but in reality, he was just an opportunist who was loyal to and flattered Japan.]

“Who… Who is this?!! What kind of guy is this?!!”

This is Daedeok County, and Park Jeong-ui checked the leaflets scattered all over the country.

A rumor that makes my hands tremble no matter how many times I read it. When did I ever pledge allegiance to the Emperor?

Starting with the death of Emperor Hirohito, public opinion began to dig up the truth that had been buried for a long time, one by one.

Was Park Jeong-ui a great soldier and politician who led the Korean army to victory in the Songho War and served as Prime Minister three times?

Or are you just an opportunist who wears different masks depending on the situation?

Even though the head of state forgave Japan, those who could not accept it doggedly pursued the actions of pro-Japanese collaborators.

Park Jeong-ui is a hero who has received six medals from the country. It would not be surprising if he receives a state funeral and is buried in the National Cemetery when he dies.

But the pro-Japanese history is a problem.

Then, wouldn’t it be okay to formally file an objection with the government?

Did it really have to be like this, handing out leaflets everywhere?

If things go wrong, there is a possibility that insult charges may be applied.

The Central Intelligence Agency, which received this case, also began to verify the facts.

The crime of insult is subject to ‘factual statement’ and ‘violation of public interest’, so even if the person’s reputation is damaged, it is not a crime if the content is true.

Violation of the public interest is whether spreading this rumor is in the public interest. Even if it is true that former Prime Minister Park Chung-hee was a pro-Japanese collaborator, is it in the public interest to make this known to society?

The Central Intelligence Agency continued its investigation based on these two criteria.

“Did you really pledge allegiance to the Emperor?”

“Well, the claim that former Prime Minister Park Jeong-ui wrote the oath in blood was reported in the Manchurian Daily. But I heard that this newspaper was already closed in 1939?”

“No, I heard that the blood oath was published in the Manchurian Daily News, not the Manchurian Daily.”

“No, so is it true that you swore allegiance to the Emperor? Isn’t that the problem?”

First of all, it has been confirmed that the blood oath was written.

A blood letter that does not contain the content of Jinchungboguk (serving the country with loyalty), but clearly contains the content of Salsabonggong (giving up selfish desires and working for the public good).

There are some differences, but in the end, doesn’t it mean that you will work for Japan?

But what’s also ambiguous is that the Manchurian Military Academy, supported by former Prime Minister Park Jeong-ui, accepted its first cadets in 1939 and only allowed Japanese students to enroll thereafter until Japan’s defeat in 1945.

This means that if you are not Japanese, you cannot enroll.

But how was it possible for a Korean to apply to the military academy?

Some have claimed that former Prime Minister Park Chung-hee did not enter the military academy of his own volition, but was drafted into the military.

“At that time, a conscription department was established at the Manchurian Military Academy. It is possible that former Prime Minister Park was also forcibly taken there.”

“That doesn’t make sense. The recruitment of cadets at the military academy is under the jurisdiction of the training department, not the recruitment department. It doesn’t make sense to say that former Prime Minister Park was drafted because the recruitment department was transferred to the military academy.”

“That’s not important now. Isn’t the issue whether Prime Minister Park swore allegiance to the Emperor?”

“No. We have to consider whether this is in the public interest.”

Whatever the reason, it is true that I wrote the letter in blood.

Since he did not lie, the person who distributed the leaflets cannot be charged with defamation.

So, is it in the public interest to reveal these facts to public opinion?

When evaluating a person, you have to consider both their merits and demerits, and leaflet distribution can be misused to highlight the negative aspects of a certain person or as a political attack.

It is true that former Prime Minister Park pledged allegiance to Japan.

However, it is also true that after liberation, he led the Korean army to victory in the war and made great contributions to diplomacy with the United States, local decentralization, welfare policy, and fostering heavy and chemical industries.

If Prime Minister Park Jeong-ui had not gone to Manchuria, would Korea have been able to develop this much?

At that time, Manchuria was experiencing great prosperity thanks to the development of heavy chemical industries, and Prime Minister Park must have felt something when he saw that.

If you look at it all, former Prime Minister Park is a person with more merits than demerits, but the fact that he only emphasized the negative aspects shows that he is calculating to gain political advantage by belittling him.

If this was done for personal greed rather than public interest, it is possible to be punished.

The Central Intelligence Agency arrested the perpetrator who distributed the leaflets.

“Why did you distribute these leaflets? Huh?”

“That’s… I think the enemy is embracing Japan too much these days… .”

“So? Are you criticizing former Prime Minister Park because you don’t have the confidence to curse your enemy?”

The perpetrator’s motive was relatively simple.

The history of Korea and Japan revisited by the death of Emperor Hirohito

How many people died and were injured due to the atrocities of the Japanese? Is it okay to cover it up like this?

But in South Korea, where criticizing the head of state is legally prohibited, those with many grievances turned to former Prime Minister Park Chung-hee.

If you’re going to be that picky, shouldn’t former Dong-A Ilbo president Park Sang-ui be criticized too?

Park Sang-ui, the president of the Dong-A Ilbo, was a branch manager of the Dong-A Ilbo during the Japanese colonial period, so it is only natural that there will be controversy over his collaboration with the Japanese.

However, the Dong-A Ilbo branch manager was only a mask on the surface, and behind the scenes, he participated in the Shinganhoe – Joseon Geon-guk Alliance and was eventually recognized as a patriotic martyr.

At that time, Joseon was embroiled in a controversy over pro-Japanese activities because Yeo Un-hyeong, who led the founding alliance, was friendly with Japanese politicians.

But this too must be accepted as part of Korean history.

Since the wounds suffered by Japan were so deep, it is understandable that such claims are made and that the head of state does not view it favorably when he becomes close to Japan.

But Emperor Akihito has repeatedly apologized and even visited the Koma Shrine to resolve friendship with Korea, so does distributing these leaflets serve the public good?

The Central Intelligence Agency concluded that such actions were not in the public interest.

I’m not saying you shouldn’t criticize Japan, but if you want to criticize, you should do so properly.

If Japan doesn’t apologize and denies its past, then we should criticize it, but isn’t that not the case now?

As the KCIA cracked down, public opinion in South Korea calmed down.

Thanks to this, former Prime Minister Park Jeong-ui was also freed from the controversy over pro-Japanese activities, but this time, an incident broke out in Japan.

***

“Your Majesty, this is a serious matter.”

“What’s going on?”

“Right-wing groups are protesting. They say that Japan’s sovereignty will be restored only if the Emperor takes a correct stance…”

This is the Japanese Imperial Palace,

Emperor Akihito reacted sensitively to public opinion.

Korea has also been noisy recently due to the pro-Japanese controversy.

When Korea provoked Japan, there was a backlash in Japan as well.

There were many voices from the right wing who were dissatisfied with how long Japan would remain humble towards Korea, and who said that they had to speak up to restore Japan’s prestige.

“If you think about it, Korea is just putting a spoon on the table that Japan prepared for us!!”

“Isn’t the direction of economic development following what we were doing?!!”

“Korea should be grateful to Japan!! We did nothing wrong!!”

It is true that Korea’s economic development was benchmarked against Japan’s.

But what does that have to do with the past?

Above all, the Emperor is doing his best to improve diplomatic relations with Korea, so pouring cold water on this does not serve the ‘public interest of Japan.’

Above all, Emperor Akihito grew up watching the extreme right run wild, and he ignored the extreme right’s claims.

However, far-right groups that do not know the extent of their actions continue to protest and distribute leaflets to sway public sentiment, and some of them contain content like this.

[Is the Emperor’s obsession with diplomatic relations with Korea in the national interest of Japan? Or is it submission to a powerful country?]

The Emperor’s friendly gesture toward Korea is not in Japan’s national interest, but a cowardly act of bowing down to the powerful.

So are you saying that we should fight Korea while denying its past history of invasion?

Even Emperor Akihito, who is usually not very angry, could not tolerate this kind of rudeness.

“They are not saying this for the good of the country. They are just trying to create unnecessary conflict because of their own pride and stubbornness. Above all, it is extremely disrespectful to talk about the royal family.”

Emperor Akihito has put pressure on the Diet to crack down on far-right groups.

Emperor Hirohito was unable to directly suppress the far right because of his responsibility for the war, but Emperor Akihito is relatively free from such responsibility.

Above all, meddling in what the royal family does is crossing the line.

Who is practicing submissive diplomacy?

The Emperor made it clear that he was focused on improving diplomacy with Korea for Japan’s benefit, and that this was not for personal reasons but for the public good.

***

“Have you dealt with the right-wingers?”

“Yes, I confirmed it.”

This is the Daedeok County official residence.

I have been paying keen attention to the recent resurgence of historical issues between Korea and Japan.

We have tried so hard for the past 30 years, but the problem is still not covered.

Do I forgive Japan for its past history because I like Japan? If it wasn’t beneficial to Korea, I wouldn’t have joined hands with Japan in the first place.

But politics is a practical matter,

What was the secret of Korea’s continuous supply of bullets and weapons to the Allied Forces in the Songho War?

Because they used Japan as their production base, they needed Japan’s military power to deal with the threats from the Soviet Union and China.

So, now that we are free from the threats of China and the Soviet Union, can we distance ourselves from Japan?

Separately from that, Japan is an economic powerhouse, ranking third in the world in terms of economy and fifth in terms of population.

My approval rating is not low enough to warrant dividing public opinion in Korea right now, so should I raise my approval rating by criticizing Japan?

There is no political advantage to distancing ourselves from Japan, and it is the same for economic reasons.

So, trying to get along well,

Is it in the public interest to bring up historical issues in this situation?

Even if you’re going to swear, you should do it properly. If you’re just handing out leaflets and digging into what you want to emphasize, it’s not for the public good.

Who doesn’t know that my uncle was loyal to Japan and even wrote a pledge in blood?

Should we follow the principle of Yoo Jae-shi (employ talented people even if they lack character) or the principle of Ji In-ji (given people with good character as priority)?

Does Korea, which just became independent, value the character of its talents?

Rather than spending time talking about character, it would be much more beneficial to hire officers with Japanese military backgrounds and absorb talented people who were in charge of administration under Japanese rule.

Does that mean I hired them because I like pro-Japanese people?

I’m not even close to any pro-Japanese people, so why are you interpreting it that way?

However, there are people who treat Korea as a country built by pro-Japanese collaborators, and it is questionable how well people who make such claims could have led Korea.

Probably the US would have been hostile to Japan and sought cooperation with North Korea.

Is a country led by such things in the public interest?

If those guys had taken power, I would be living as an American businessman now, not as the head of state of Korea. I would rather live as an American than as a Korean in a country ruled by those guys.

In that respect, I am free from the framework of the country.

Do I need to be dependent on Korea when I have already established an organization called the World Government?

If Korean public opinion rejects me, I will turn away without hesitation. Knowing that, Korean public opinion cannot criticize the head of state.

If I leave Korea, it means that Daehan Transportation is also leaving Korea. Can Korea, which has already become a corporate state, refuse Daehan Transportation?

The moment Daehan Transportation leaves, 1 trillion won in taxes evaporates.

Can Korea afford that?

Like it or not, Korea has no choice but to go with me. In this way, Korean public opinion has compromised with reality for the public good.