President Lee Jae Myung visited sites in Shanghai related to Korea's independence movement on the final day of his state visit to China. He commemorated historical sacrifices and stressed diplomacy for peace and prosperity between the two nations. The visits occurred on January 7, 2026.
President Lee Jae Myung visited the former headquarters of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea in Shanghai on January 7, 2026, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the building's construction. The site served as the provisional government's main office from 1926 to 1932, and the visit also marked the 150th anniversary of independence hero Kim Koo's birth (1876-1949). There, Lee highlighted the shared history of Seoul and Beijing in losing sovereignty and fighting for independence, expressing hope that the two nations would reflect on their sacrifices to promote friendship and cooperation.
"The fierce struggles of Korean and Chinese people for independence and liberation will remain etched in history and serve as the roots of the bonds and solidarity between our two nations," he said.
Following this, Lee toured Lu Xun Park, formerly known as Hongkou Park, where Korean independence fighter Yun Bong-gil (1908-1932) carried out a bombing in 1932 to protest Japan's colonial rule. Yun detonated a bomb during a Japanese celebration marking Emperor Hirohito's birthday and the occupation of large parts of Shanghai, killing or fatally wounding several senior Japanese officials.
In a Facebook post, Lee described the site as the place where Yun "made a declaration of his country's sovereignty and the dignity of his people." He wrote, "The bomb that a young man from a small and weak country threw was an outright challenge to the imperialist order of invasion and exploitation, expressing his firm belief that solidarity for peace is possible."
Lee evaluated the incident as one that "completely changed the course of modern East Asian history," prompting the Chinese government to formally acknowledge Korea's provisional government in exile, established in 1919, and helping to rally independence forces across the region. "Shanghai became a center of solidarity for freedom and dignity beyond borders," he said.
Lee vowed to remember the sacrifices of forebears and pursue diplomacy that promotes "peace and co-prosperity" amid a shifting geopolitical landscape. "Scars of history have not yet fully healed and sources of confrontations still exist in many places in today's turbulent international order," he noted. "In times like this, we need politics of respect rather than the logic of force, and diplomacy of cooperation rather than confrontation."
The visit was accompanied by First Lady Kim Hea Kyung, Veterans Minister Kwon Oh-eul, and descendants of independence fighters, including Rep. Kim Yong-man, a great-grandson of Kim Koo. In talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Lee requested support for preserving historical sites and recovering remains of fighters. Shanghai served as the main base for the provisional government until liberation in 1945, with nearly half of Korea's independence movement historic sites located in China.
