August 15th is a national holiday Liberation Day (광복절). On August 15th, 1995, President Kim Young-sam marked the occassion by beginning the demolition of the old Seoul Capitol building.
In August that year he announced that it would be demolished beginning in 1995, the 50th anniversary of the end of the Second World War and with it Japanese colonial rule, as well as the 600th anniversary of Gyeongbokgung. Plans were announced for a new National Museum. There was intense public debate on the issue, with Kim and other demolition proponents arguing that the building was a symbol of Japanese rule that had been built deliberately to deface Gyeongbokgung. Opponents countered that Korea, now a wealthy land, was no longer troubled by such symbolism, and that reminders of the Japanese era were needed; many opposed the move on the grounds of the expense incurred, and the merit of the existing building. (Other Japanese-era buildings, such as the old Seoul Station, and Seoul City Hall, are considered landmarks of the city.) A proposal was made to move the building to a new site, although this would have been far more expensive than demolition.