Written on March 29, 2017, this piece introduces a Sankei evening editorial revealing historical facts unfamiliar to most Japanese readers. It traces the roots of South Korea’s political upheaval back to a 1974 assassination attempt in Osaka, exposing North Korean and Chongryon involvement.

The Hidden Origins of Korea’s Political Crisis Revealed

A 2017 analysis uncovering how North Korean terror and Chongryon operations shaped South Korea’s modern political turmoil.

2017-03-29
Below is an editorial published in yesterday’s Sankei evening edition.
Like myself, most Japanese people—indeed, all readers of the Asahi Shimbun—are encountering these facts for the first time.
They are also facts that leave one stunned.
This is precisely what a newspaper article should be.
Emphasis within the text, aside from the headline, is mine.
Impeachment of Former President Park and Northern Terror
Are We Prepared for the Threat of the “Cold War”
It Began in Osaka
South Korea’s President Park Geun-hye was impeached over a state-affairs intervention scandal.
Following a historical chain of events, a left-wing opposition candidate has emerged as the leading contender for the next presidency, raising the possibility of a “pro-North government.”
When one traces this Korean “political upheaval” backward in time, it leads to an incident that occurred in Osaka forty-three years ago.
At a time when even the worst-case scenario—of the entire Korean Peninsula becoming North Koreanized and turning into an anti-Japanese state armed with nuclear missiles—is a concern, that incident offers lessons that must now be heeded.
On July 18, 1974, a handgun was stolen from the Takatsu police box of the Minami Police Station in Osaka, located on the outskirts of the Minami entertainment district.
About one month later, on August 15, that handgun was fired in Seoul.
The target was President Park Chung-hee, who was delivering a speech at a Liberation Day ceremony.
He was the father of Park Geun-hye.
President Park survived, but his wife, Yuk Young-soo, was killed.
After her mother’s death, Park Geun-hye was approached by the religious figure Choi Tae-min.
His daughter, Choi Soon-sil, later became Park Geun-hye’s close confidante and is now the defendant indicted in the state-affairs intervention scandal.
The origin of the relationship between Park Geun-hye and Choi Soon-sil was the assassination attempt on President Park.
That assassination attempt was a terrorist act by North Korea, aimed at the “communization” of South Korea.
The assailant apprehended at the scene was a 22-year-old Zainichi Korean, Mun Se-gwang, who had been born and raised in Osaka.
According to South Korean authorities, he received orders to assassinate President Park from the political bureau chief of the Osaka Ikuno West Branch of the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryon), along with financial support, and he gave detailed accounts of North Korean and Chongryon involvement and directives.
Approximately four months after the incident, he was executed by hanging.
At the time, North Korea and Chongryon vehemently denied any involvement in the shooting.
However, in 2002, when Park Geun-hye visited North Korea, General Secretary Kim Jong-il admitted North Korea’s involvement and apologized.
To be continued.