On Monday, Grand National Party (GNP) chairwoman Park Geun Hye resigned from her position as the head of the board of directors at the Jeongsu Scholarship Foundation. The stated reason for doing so was because of public opinion holding that it is inappropriate for the head of a political party to be the head of the board at a scholarship foundation. The overwhelming view is that she wants to avoid the criticism about the organization, which became an issue in the current process of facing up to recent Korean history. As is well known, the name "Jeongsu" was created from the names of former president Park Chung Hee and his wife Yook Young Soo. There was once something called the Buil Scholarship Foundation, but immediately after the coup d'etat on May 16, 1961 its assets were taken from the entrepreneur who operated it and turned into the "May 16 Scholarship Foundation," later to be changed to the "Jeongsu Scholarship Foundation." Park's daughter, Park Geun Hye, has enjoyed a long reign as the head of the board there. It must have been something of a burden for the GNP, since having its chairwoman involved there strengthened its connections to the legacy of the Yusin regime at a time when it is trying to rid itself of that image.
It is too early to declare the organization is now what it should be just because she has resigned, because it is still possible to think the members of the board are within her influence. It should be reborn as a public foundation truly for the people, just as many civic groups in the Busan region are demanding. Needless to day, the board has to be reorganized with individuals who are objective and neutral for that to happen. The new board can then work towards making it a public foundation true to name through a process of public debate.
The process through which the Jeongsu Scholarship Foundation was built is one of the issues being investigated by the National Intelligence Service's (NIS) historical inquiry committee. Naturally a thorough investigation will be of help in having the organization truly give back to society. Our generation has a responsibility to set right the spirit of society and history by straighten out the wrong of the twisted past, before it takes any longer. Such is the case, and yet perpetrators with responsibility for past wrongs are engaged in stubborn resistance through the media and politics. That is why there desperately needs to be a thorough investigation and healthy public criticism based on the results.
The Hankyoreh, 1 March 2005.
[Translations by Seoul Selection (PMS)]
[Editorial] The Jeongsu Foundation and the Problematic Past |
