Father's past sinks Uri chairman

Shin Ki-nam, the chairman of South Korea's ruling Uri Party, reacts before a news conference at the party headquarters in Seoul yesterday. Shin resigned after admitting his father served as a military police officer during the era of Japanese rule. PHOTO: REUTERS

The head of South Korea's ruling party resigned yesterday amid suggestions that he had covered up his father's past as a military policeman for Japanese occupiers. The resignation comes during renewed national debate on the role of collaborators under colonial rule.

Shin Ki-nam, chairman of the ruling Uri party, had previously said his father was only a teacher during the 1910-45 occupation. But this week, he was forced to admit his father worked for the Japanese forces, confirming a magazine report.

The implication that Shin may have lied to cover up his father's past has made him a political liability as the country reassesses the colonial period. President Roh Moo-hyun has called for government investigations into the pro-Japanese activities of collaborators.

Roh said those whose ancestors were collaborators wouldn't face punishment or have any rights restricted.

Still, Shin said he was stepping down from the party's chairmanship so he wouldn't be an obstacle to the inquiries, and to "lessen difficulties that the party is experiencing because of me."

Shin to those who fought for Korean independence, bowing his head before journalists at a news conference yesterday. "In place of my father, I deeply apologize and seek forgiveness," he said.

Over the weekend in a speech marking the 59th anniversary of Korean liberation from Japanese rule, Roh called for a renewed look at collaborators -- an issue never intensely investigated in independent South Korea.

Several agencies have already responded to the plea and launched investigations.

Shin the past three days since the revelations had been the most difficult in his life, and that he would seek to unearth more about his father's history. He said before recent media reports that he only vaguely knew that his father was with the Japanese military, but didn't know details such as his father serving as a military police officer.

Shin it wasn't easy for him to reveal his position because it concerned his father, who has always been the "object of my respect and pride."

"To be honest, the recent detailed reports of my father are shocking for me, and I still find it difficult to believe everything. I plan to check into it myself," Shin said.

Some have even reported allegations of people who said they were tortured by Shin's father.

Moves investigate that period have drawn opposition criticism, with the main opposition Grand National Party condemning Roh's plans to investigate collaborators as a political ploy aimed at staining its chairwoman, Park Geun-hye.

Her was an officer in the Japanese army and former military ruler of South Korea.

Shin assumed the party's chairmanship in May after the previous head, Chung Dong-young, stepped aside to become unification minister.