Controversy rises over plans to build Syngman Rhee memorial in Seoul
Controversy is escalating over proposed plans to construct a memorial in central Seoul for Syngman Rhee, the first president of Korea and a contentious figure in Korean history.
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon said Tuesday that a public consensus should be reached before building a memorial for Rhee.
Songhyeon Green Plaza, located next to Gyeongbok Palace in Jongno District, is mentioned as a potential site for this memorial.
The site once hosted homes and buildings of pro-Japanese figures and organizations during the 191045 Japanese colonial era and was later used to house U.S. Embassy staff after liberation. It was returned to the Korean government in 1997.
The square, three times the size of Seoul Plaza, had long been inaccessible, overgrown with weeds and surrounded by high walls, but was opened to the public by the Seoul Metropolitan Government in October 2022 for the first time in 100 years.
Oh has pledged to leave the space open and empty, noting there aren’t many green spaces in the city center.
Critics, however, say it is inappropriate to build a memorial for a specific person there.
In response, Oh said the proposed memorial hall would occupy less than one-tenth of the square. He said building the proposed three- to four-story memorial building on the square’s west side would not significantly affect the park’s landscape.
He added that the project is not led by the Seoul Metropolitan Government but by a committee dedicated to advocating for the construction of a memorial hall for Rhee.
Oh said the committee hopes the memorial hall will serve a broader purpose beyond merely honoring achievements but impartially assessing merits and demerits by providing future generations with an objective perspective.
“Memorials dedicated to founding presidents highlighting both achievements and failures can be easily found in many other countries,” he said.
Oh added that the evaluation of Rhee’s presidency has predominantly been focused on its negative aspects and that there should be a reexamination of his achievements to offer a more balanced and objective assessment.
He also said that the use of Songhyeon Green Plaza for the memorial hall will only proceed with public consent.
“The discussion is only in the early stages, considering that the committee promoting the establishment of the memorial would have to raise funds and cooperate with relevant ministries of the central government,” Oh said.
Meanwhile, the public consensus on the construction of the memorial remains uncertain, given Rhee’s mixed legacy. He was an advocate for independence during the Japanese colonial era, but he was forced out of office following a massive pro-democracy civil uprising following his party’s election fraud in 1960.