Yoon Seok-yeol: "4·3 Painful History... We Cannot Change the Past but Will Build the Future Together"

Conservative Party Elected Official Attends Jeju 4·3 Memorial Ceremony for the First Time

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol stated on the 3rd, "I will strive to widely spread the power of the April 3rd history that moved from tragedy to peace so that it can meet the world."

On this day, President-elect Yoon posted a photo on his Facebook showing him paying respects at the April 3rd Victims Memorial Ceremony held at the Jeju April 3rd Peace Park in Jeju City in the morning, and made this statement.

Photo by Yoon Seok-yeol President-elect Facebook

President-elect Yoon wrote, "I remember the painful history of April 3rd and each and every innocent sacrifice," and "I express my deep condolences to the spirits of the victims." He added, "I also offer words of comfort to the bereaved families who endured the years of suffering and cultivated Jeju, the island of peace," and continued, "We cannot change the past, but we can create the future together."

At the April 3rd Victims Memorial Ceremony he attended that morning, President-elect Yoon said, "Healing the pain of April 3rd and caring for its scars is our very responsibility as those who remember April 3rd, and it is Korea's role to move forward toward reconciliation, coexistence, and the future."

On the 3rd, Yoon Seok-yeol, the president-elect, delivered a memorial address at the 74th Jeju 4.3 Victims Memorial Ceremony held at the Jeju 4.3 Peace Park. Photo by the Transition Team Press Corps

He promised, "I will work to fully restore the honor of the April 3rd victims and their families," and "The state will responsibly soothe the lives and pains of the surviving victims and bereaved families who have overcome their suffering and difficult times."

This is the first time a president or president-elect from a conservative party has attended the April 3rd Victims Memorial Ceremony. This fulfills a promise made by President-elect Yoon during the last presidential election campaign, when he stated, "Participating in the April 3rd memorial is a path to peace and national unity based on the spirit of human rights and liberal democracy."