President Lee Jae-myung delivers remarks during a meeting with senior secretaries at the Blue House on May 21. / Photo courtesy of Yonhap News Agency

President Lee Jae-myung issued a stern directive on May 21, emphasizing, "Malicious fake news, such as the recently recurring allegations of North Korean military intervention in the May 18 Democratization Movement, alongside acts that glorify state-sponsored violent crimes or insult their victims, must be met with powerful retribution leveraging all available measures."

"We must set a flawed history straight to prevent the recurrence of such tragedies," President Lee stated while presiding over a meeting with senior secretaries at the Blue House in the afternoon.

"Poisonous weeds that glorify state violence and mock or insult its victims are spreading," President Lee remarked with gravity. "We must uproot them entirely."

President Lee further underscored the necessity of a principled approach over superficial compromises. "A righteous integration, built upon confronting past wrongs and reflecting upon them, is paramount," he noted, pointing out that recent incidents of trivializing the victims of the May 18 movement stem from a lack of such rigorous efforts.

"State violence is an anti-humanitarian and anti-social felony that tramples on human rights and civilian lives by abusing the authority delegated by the sovereign people to ensure public safety and a better life," President Lee emphasized. "Considering its persistent harm to our community, it is inherently unjust to treat it on par with ordinary offenses."

Drawing a parallel to international precedents, President Lee added, "Accountability is pursued and damages are compensated for Nazi war crimes to this day. We must swiftly finalize legislative measures to fundamentally eliminate the statute of limitations for criminal prosecution and civil damage claims regarding state-sponsored violent crimes."

"Many will recall that a related bill had previously passed the National Assembly, only to be neutralized by a veto during the preceding administration," he reminded the attendees. "We must rapidly overhaul the state-level compensation and reparation systems required for victim recovery and expedite the revocation of state decorations awarded to those who participated in state violence."

President Lee has consistently amplified this message following his sharp public rebuke on May 18 concerning Starbucks' "Tank Day" promotion, which drew intense criticism for mocking the victims of the May 18 Democratization Movement and state violence.

In a scathing criticism directed at Starbucks, President Lee stated, "I am deeply infuriated by the subhuman and reckless behavior of these low-grade merchants who deny the values of the Republic of Korea's community, fundamental human rights, and democracy." On the preceding day, May 20, he similarly condemned a controversial advertisement by Musinsa that mocked the torture-death of activist Bak Jong-cheol, remarking, "Money may be a demon, but how can anyone wearing a human mask behave in such a manner?"