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| ▲ Veterans Minister Park Min-shik speaks during a parliamentary meeting on Sept. 6, 2023. (Yonhap) |
ex-president-defamation suit
Ex-President Moon sues veterans minister for defaming his father
By Kim Han-joo
SEOUL, Sept. 12 (Yonhap) -- Former President Moon Jae-in filed a defamation complaint against Veterans Minister Park Min-shik on Tuesday for suggesting that his father was a pro-Japanese figure, according to an opposition lawmaker.
The minister made the remark during a parliamentary meeting last week, claiming Moon's father served in a regional government in Hungnam, a city in what is now North Korea, during Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.
Moon's side rejected the claim, saying the deceased served in the position after the colonial rule ended.
"Former President Moon filed a complaint against Minister Park for defaming the deceased this morning," said Rep. Youn Kun-young of the main opposition Democratic Party, who served as Moon's senior presidential secretary, in a text message sent to reporters.
The minister's remarks came in the context of a comparison to another historical figure, Gen. Paik Sun-yup, who is widely credited for his contributions to the country during the Korean War of 1950-1953.
Despite being credited with leading key battles during the conflict, a presidential committee put Paik on a list of pro-Japanese figures in 2009, citing his military service for Manchukuo, a puppet state of Imperial Japan, during Tokyo's colonial rule.
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