Politics / Economy (pro-Japanese collaborator)
| Life | 1903 ~ 1994 |
| Era | 근현대 |
| Clan | 밀양 박씨 |
Bak Heung-sik (朴興植, 1903-1994) ran the Hwasin Department Store and was regarded as colonial Korea's wealthiest man.
Pro-Japanese activities: In 1938 he served as an executive of pro-Japanese organizations such as the Korean League for National Spiritual Mobilization, publicly urging cooperation with the war effort, and in February 1944, with colonial government backing, he founded Joseon Aircraft Industries and built a factory in Anyang, Gyeonggi, aiming to donate military aircraft to Japan.
After liberation, he was arrested as case No. 1 by the Anti-National Activities Special Investigation Committee in January 1949, but was later released. For these activities he was designated a pro-Japanese collaborator both by the government's Presidential Committee for the Inspection of Collaboration with Japan and in the Dictionary of Pro-Japanese Biographies compiled by the Institute for Research in Collaborationist Activities.