Gwangju Mayor Lee Yong-seop: "Yoon Seok-yeol, Do Not Politicize Your Visit to Gwangju"

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] On the 25th, Lee Yong-seop, Mayor of Gwangju Metropolitan City, held an emergency press conference and stated to Yoon Seok-yeol, the People Power Party presidential primary candidate, "Do not politically exploit your visit to Gwangju."

The mayor said, "The people of Gwangju cannot understand what intention Yoon Seok-yeol, the People Power Party preliminary candidate, has in visiting Gwangju after not only praising Jeon Du-hwan, the culprit of the May 18 incident, but also mocking and trampling on the citizens of Gwangju once again with a 'dog apple' photo."

He continued, "We have no intention of handing over our Gwangju as a 'political show stage' to Yoon Seok-yeol, who consistently shows arrogance and dogmatism without a sincere apology despite revealing a low and vulgar view of history," emphasizing, "The 1.5 million citizens of Gwangju strongly oppose Yoon Seok-yeol's visit to Gwangju this time."

Furthermore, he said, "A visit to Gwangju without reflection only makes the May families and the citizens of Gwangju suffer more and become angrier," and asserted, "What Yoon Seok-yeol must do right now is to show a sincere approach based on a proper historical understanding of May Gwangju that the citizens of Gwangju can accept."

He also added, "It is truly regrettable and worrisome for the future of the country that a person with a frivolous historical consciousness that does not even meet the average level of the people is running to become president," and said, "History has strong power when it is remembered and recorded correctly. The historical awareness of national leaders must be right for history to advance and for the country to develop."

He then emphasized, "If Yoon wants to truly become a leader for the nation and the people, he must understand with his heart the pain of innocent Gwangju citizens who were trampled by military boots and lost their lives to ruthless guns and knives, the May families who buried their beloved family members and have spent their lives swallowing bitter tears and sleepless nights, and the families of countless missing persons whose whereabouts are still unknown, and show that sincerity through words and actions."

The mayor concluded, "Only after that, if he visits Gwangju and kneels before the spirits of May and apologizes, there would be no reason for the citizens of Gwangju to oppose it."