President Yoon Suk-yeol visited the birthplace of former South Korean leader Park Chung-hee on Wednesday. He paid respects by offering flowers and burning incense at Park’s memorial hall in Gumi, about 160 miles (260 km) southeast of Seoul, and wrote in the visitor’s book, “A great future led by a great leader. I, along with the people, will not forget and will continue the legacy.”

But this was not just a routine visit to pay homage. As observers familiar with ROK history will recognize, Yoon’s visit and words of praise were fraught with political significance.