Yoon to commemorate 1980 pro-democracy in Gwangju

May 18, 2022, 09:00 am

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President Yoon Suk-yeol arrives at the presidential office in Yongsan, Soeul on May 17, 2022./ Source: Yonhap

AsiaToday reporter Lee Wook-jae

President Yoon Suk-yeol will attend a ceremony in Gwangju on Wednesday to commemorate the May 18 pro-democracy movement, also referred to as the “Gwangju Uprising.” He suggested his aides, ministers and National Assembly lawmakers to attend the ceremony.

Yoon is expected to be accompanied by some 100 ruling People Power Party members, Cabinet members and top presidential aides in a rare move by a conservative party that is intended to stress national unity.

“A groundbreaking step toward new politics for national unity might begin tomorrow,” a senior presidential official said at a briefing at the presidential office in Yongsan, Seoul.

As the conservative party has taken passive steps toward the Gwangju Uprising, it would be a significant event to see a large number of conservatives attending the event. Yoon’s move is apparently aimed at showing himself to the people as a different conservative President.

Besides, it is aimed at positive results for the June 1 local elections by winning swing voters in the Honam region, a traditional stronghold of the liberal Democratic Party.

At the end of the ceremony, Yoon and all attendees in unison plan to sing “March for the Beloved,” a democracy anthem, to pay tributes to the victims of the democratization movement. Since the event has become a legal commemoration ceremony in 2003, whether or not to sing the song has sparked controversy and conflict. Under the Lee Myung-bak administration, the singing session was excluded from the official ceremony, and the event was eventually split into two due to resistance from the bereaved families. Under the Park Geun-hye administration, the song was played by a choir. And it was since the Moon Jae-in administration that has allowed participants to sing the song together.

During the ceremony, Yoon and key government officials as well as PPP lawmakers will stand and sing the song together. Recently, the PPP’s administrative bureau has reportedly notified their members to be familiar with the song before attending the event.

During his commemorative address, political observers say Yoon may vow to convey the May 18 spirit in the Constitution. When he was a presidential candidate, he pledged to include the May 18 spirit in the constitution, saying, “The May 18 spirit is the spirt of liberal democracy.” However, the presidential office say the National Assembly should take the lead.

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