PUBLIC SPEECH OF DR. PARK, SEH-JIK, CHAIRMAN OF THE KOREAN
VETERANS ASSOCIATION (KVA) ON NATIONAL DAY, JUNE 25, 2007,
SEOUL, REPUBLIC OF KOREA
The 57th Korean War Commemoration Ceremony
June 25, 2007
Jangchoong Gymnasium
Opening Address
By
Chairman Park, Seh-Jik
The Korean Veterans Association
The Honorable Han, Duck Soo, Prime Minister of the Republic
of Korea; Distinguished guests; Our true heroes, Korean War Veterans from home and abroad; and 7.5 million members
of the Korean Veterans Association!
Today, we are gathered here to commemorate the Korean War
that we cannot and should not forget.
I would, first and foremost, like to pray for those heroes
who courageously fought and gave their precious lives on this soil to safeguard the Republic of Korea.
I also extend my deepest sympathy to the bereaved families
who sacrificed their husbands and sons to the altar of freedom and national defense and have lived the entire lives
with broken hearts.
Especially, we are honored today to have here 188 UN Korean
War veterans and their families including H.E. Fidel V. Ramos, Former President of the Republic of the Philippines
along with Korean National Korean War veterans and their families residing overseas.
Distinguished guests and ladies and gentlemen!
Please stand and join me in thanking those heroes and
showing our gratitude and respect.
My fellow members of the Korean Veterans Association and
guests from abroad!
We perform the Korean War Commemoration Ceremony every year
for the following reasons:
Those are, firstly, to pay tributes to our comrades-in-arms
who sacrificed their lives during the war and extend our sympathy to their bereaved families.
Secondly, to let all the people realize the lessons we
learned from the war and teach the lessons correctly to our descendants.
Thirdly, to renew our resolution to establish strong
defense posture to prevent another war in this country.
It is a historical fact that the communist regime of Kim Il
Sung broke out the Korean War to communize the Korean Peninsula instigated by the Soviet Union, causing over six
millions of casualties and complete devastation of the country. It was the greatest tragedy in our history.
But not small number of young people today has been misled
to believe that South Korea initiated the Korean War and our main enemy is the U.S.A. that in fact provided enormous
help to the Republic of Korea during the war. Even 38 percent of elementary school students think that the Korean
War broke out during the Chosun Dynasty. In this situation, how can we be confident that the Republic of Korea has a
bright future and secures a strong defense posture? Our homes, schools, society, and all of us should take the
responsibility of not teaching our young people correctly. In particular, I ask the Government and education
authorities, which are in charge of school education, to reconsider the current education policies across the board.
North Korea has always cried out such emotional words as
“People, Peace, and Brotherly Cooperation” in almost every talk. But the regime that abandoned 3 million Korean
people to starve to death in order to maintain the dictatorship can never have the right to use the word “People.”
One of the main reasons that caused the provocation of the
Korean War was our total ignorance of the enemy before the war. For the purpose of preventing another war in this
country, it is absolutely necessary to identify the North’s intension clearly.
North Korea has developed nuclear bombs and missiles, and
frequently employed brinkmanship tactics with threats of breaking a war. Those actions clearly show us the North’s
genuine intention.
By maintaining nuclear weapons and menacing the south with
them, the North would attempt to seize the South as hostage. By doing so, the North will be able to seek direct
dialogue, which will produce US-North Korea Peace Treaty, and will possibly allow eventual withdrawal of US forces
from South Korea. Then the North would try to take over the entire Korean Peninsula by way of the “low-level
federation” which is specified in the June 15th South-North Joint Declaration.
The Republic of Korea should by no means be deceived by
their ill-motivated propaganda of disguised peace. Therefore, we should frustrate their intention to communize South
Korea.
Therefore, we must maintain the strong ROK-US combined
defense posture to let North Korea realize that any nuclear threats or provocation will lead to their self
destruction.
We need to bar the rash and reckless actions from the
anti-American, Pro-North Korea, and Leftist activists who are disguising their real intention with such terms as
“independence,” “people,” and “peace.”
My fellow members of the Korean Veterans Association and
war heroes!
It is the right time for all the people of the country to
march forward in order to correct the wrong security viewpoints and security insensitivity prevailing among some
segments of the people in this society.
As a conclusion, I would once again like to offer my
gratitude to Prime Minister Han Duck Soo and distinguished guests, and especially to the war veterans from home and
abroad and my comrades-in-arms in Korea.
I extend my heartfelt wishes for the everlasting prosperity
of the Republic of Korea and UN Korean War participating countries and for the happiness and health of you all.
Thank you very much!
[For a limited biography of
Dr. Park, Seh-Jik click on the
symbol to the right, or on the masthead of the website] |
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(Posted 6/29/07) |