This picture taken on November 12, 2020, shows Kim Jung-sook, a sister of former South Korean dictator Park Chung-hee鈥檚 assassin Kim Jae-kyu, speaking during an interview with AFP at her home in Paju. 鈥� Kim Jung-sook is seeking to overturn the conviction of her brother Jae-gyu 鈥� Park鈥檚 intelligence chief 鈥� for treason, arguing that the killing was a service to the nation and saved countless lives. (Photo by Jung Yeon-je / AFP)
PAJU, South Korea 鈥� Forty years after South Korea鈥檚 spy chief was executed for shooting dead his boss, dictator Park Chung-hee, the assassin鈥檚 sister is seeking to clear him of treason, arguing the killing was in the service of the country.
But she is not seeking to overturn his murder conviction or death sentence, is a reflection of how the South still grapples with Park鈥檚 complex legacy.
鈥淎 person needs to be punished for killing,鈥� Kim Jae-gyu鈥檚 grey-haired sister Jung-sook, 81, told AFP.
鈥淏ut my brother did not kill the president so that he could become president or to commit treason against the state.鈥�
Park took power in a 1961 military coup and established a regime that transformed South Korea into a manufacturing powerhouse, but ruthlessly crushed opposition.
He hand-picked Kim Jae-gyu, a friend from their days as military academy classmates, to head the Korean Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA), responsible for fending off espionage plots from the North and ensuring the president remained unopposed domestically.
In October 1979, major rallies against Park鈥檚 rule broke out in the second city Busan and nearby Masan, infuriating the dictator.
According to Kim, Park鈥檚 chief bodyguard Cha Ji-cheol was urging a swift and merciless crackdown, a move the spy boss opposed but the leader was leaning towards.
Questions and controversy over Kim鈥檚 motives still persist, but what is not in doubt is that he stepped away from the trio鈥檚 private, Chivas Regal-fuelled dinner at the KCIA compound in Seoul, fetched a handgun from his office and shot both men dead.
He fled but was arrested hours later.
鈥榁ain desire鈥�
Park鈥檚 assassination stunned the country and domestic security chief Chun Doo-hwan was appointed to investigate, announcing a week later that a 鈥渄elusional鈥� Kim had been driven by a 鈥渧ain desire to become president鈥� and fears his influence was waning.
Within two months, Chun took power in a military coup of his own.
At his trial 鈥� which began 41 years ago on Friday 鈥� Kim told the court that henchman Cha had suggested 鈥渙ne to two million casualties鈥� in Busan 鈥渟houldn鈥檛 be an issue鈥�, since Cambodia鈥檚 Khmer Rouge had already set such a precedent.
Park was ready to order troops to open fire if the situation worsened, he added, insisting he acted 鈥渢o restore democracy and save lives鈥�, and that otherwise, the consequences in Busan would have been 鈥渉orrifying鈥�.
Convicted of murder and conspiracy to commit treason, he was hanged on May 24, 1980.
鈥淢y only visit to him in prison took place a day before his execution,鈥� said Jung-sook, 鈥渂ut none of us knew it was going to happen the next day鈥�.
When she told him she was praying he would avoid the gallows, he told her not to bother: 鈥淒on鈥檛 pray for my life,鈥� she quoted him as saying. 鈥淩ather pray first for Park鈥檚 parentless children.鈥�
The assassination has been the subject of multiple movies and television dramas, not least because it orphaned the dictator鈥檚 daughter Park Geun-hye 鈥� herself a future president 鈥� and her siblings.
She had been 22 when her mother was killed in a botched assassination attempt by a North Korean sympathizer five years earlier.
聽Admired and despised
Media access and reporting on Kim鈥檚 trial were strictly controlled, and the official records did not include a full transcript.
But recordings of the entire proceedings were revealed earlier this year 鈥� the security official who made them disobeyed orders to destroy the 128 hours of tapes and kept them hidden for four decades.
Jung-sook鈥檚 legal representatives then sought a new treason trial from the Seoul High Court, which has yet to make a decision.
鈥淗e was executed without telling his side of the story 鈥� on why he had to do what he did,鈥� she told AFP.
Park 鈥� who abolished direct presidential elections and gave himself the right to appoint one-third of MPs 鈥� is both admired in the South for his economic leadership and despised for his authoritarian rule.
鈥淧ark鈥檚 success and failure as president are starkly contrasting to a degree that has no parallel in modern history,鈥� said political commentator and novelist Park Chul-hyun.
His killer鈥檚 grave symbolizes the conflict: it has been vandalized, with the word 鈥淕eneral鈥� scratched out.
But it is also something of a place of pilgrimage for liberals, who leave offerings on Kim鈥檚 birthday and the assassination anniversary 鈥� including bottles of Chivas.