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| ▲ National Security Adviser Cho Tae-yong responds to lawmakers' questions during a parliamentary session at the National Assembly in Seoul on Aug. 30, 2023. (Yonhap) |
Yoon-independence fighter statue
Yoon suggested 'thinking about what is right' over relocation of independence fighter's bust: aide
SEOUL, Aug. 30 (Yonhap) -- President Yoon Suk Yeol has suggested to "think about what is right" over the defense ministry's move to relocate the busts of revered Korean independence fighter Hong Beom-do, National Security Adviser Cho Tae-yong said Wednesday.
Cho disclosed Yoon's remark from a closed-door Cabinet meeting held Tuesday, as the plan to remove Hong's busts from the Korea Military Academy and the defense ministry headquarters, both in Seoul, has sparked heated controversy over its legitimacy.
The opposition Democratic Party and advocates for independence fighters have strongly protested against the move.
"(The president said he) will not say what to do. But it will be good to raise the issue and think once about what is right," Cho quoted Yoon as saying during a parliamentary session.
Cho said the National Security Office does not have a policy over the relocation, repeating the presidential office's position that the defense minister will make the decision.
The defense ministry is pushing to relocate Hong's busts to the Independence Hall of Korea in Cheonan, 85 kilometers south of Seoul, citing his past record of collaborating with Soviet communist forces and associations with communism.
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