Korean Government Trying to Stop Korean War Hero from Being Buried in the Seoul National Cemetery

General Paik Sun-yup is arguably South Korea’s greatest Korean War hero and if he was to pass away in the near term he may not be allowed to be buried or even have his body removed from the Seoul National Cemetery:

It became known on May 26, 2020 that the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs recently visited the hero of the Korean War, General Paik Sun-yup (백선엽) and said, “If the National Cemetery Act (국립묘지법) is revised, [we’re] worried that General Paik could be interred at the National Cemetery in Seoul, only to be pulled out.”  General Paik is 100 years old this year and his ability to move has been known to have degraded.  The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs said, “I heard that General Baek’s health is not good, so we wanted to ask about his general health status,” but General Paik’s family said “Our family is considering even the most evil scenario.”

East Asia Research Center

You can read the rest at the link, but what is going on is that the newly elected National Assembly dominated by the Korean left, is trying to change the National Cemetery Act to remove the graves of “pro-Japan, anti-minjok [Korean] figures interred in the National Cemetery and install tombstones describing their pro-Japan activities.” This would effectively prevent him from being buried in the Seoul National Cemetery if passed. If General Paik was to pass away before this Act was changed he would face having his body removed from the cemetery.

If the Korean left hates General Paik so much for helping stop a North Korean invasion, establishing the Republic of Korea, and speaking out against communism over the years, then an offer should be made for him to be interred in the United Nations Memorial Cemetery in Busan. There I believe he would be properly recognized for his contributions during the Korean War and to the nation of South Korea.

I had the chance to talk to General Paik many years ago and got him to sign a copy of his book, From Pusan to Panmunjon.  He was fascinating to talk to because his great memory of events that occurred and people he met during the Korean War.  If you haven’t read his book I highly recommend reading it because of the ROK perspective it provides in regards to events during the Korean War.