Jung Da-eun, Gwangju City Council Member, "5·18 Dispatch Equipment Relocation Exhibition Must Obtain Citizens' Consent"

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Jeong Dae-eun, a member of the Gwangju Metropolitan City Council, proposed during the 2023 main budget review of the Administrative Autonomy Committee's Democratic Human Rights and Peace Bureau that the 5·18 Deployment Equipment Relocation Exhibition Project should be carried out with the consent of the citizens.

Councilor Jeong stated, "Gwangju Metropolitan City plans to relocate and exhibit the 5·18 deployment helicopters and armored vehicles currently stored by the military to Gwangju City," and argued, "The May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement was clearly state violence, and the plan to relocate and exhibit helicopters and armored vehicles, which are 'weapons and tools of state violence,' must be carefully reviewed."

He continued, "Gwangju City's plan to exhibit helicopters and armored vehicles is simply to display relics that remind people of the memory of violence in the city center, which risks exposing victims to secondary harm regardless of their wishes," and added, "A recent survey conducted on 2,009 May 18 merit recipients revealed that about half of the victims still suffer from trauma, and even after more than 40 years since 1980, some victims cannot pass in front of the Jeonil Building."

He also emphasized, "For a true commemoration of the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement and the inheritance of democratic spirit, it is necessary not only to remember and recall the atrocities but also to carry out a future-oriented exhibition that fosters the spirit of Gwangju citizens who did not yield to state violence and completed the 'Gwangju community,'" and stressed, "A consultative body involving May 18 merit recipients, experts from various fields, and citizens should be formed to open a forum for discussion."

Meanwhile, Councilor Jeong Dae-eun, a former lawyer, is actively participating in the May 18 truth investigation and spirit inheritance activities as a member of the 'May 18 Special Committee of the Gwangju Jeonnam Branch of the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD),' an advisory member of the 'May 18 Truth Investigation Committee Legal Advisory Committee,' and a legal advisor and truth investigation advisor of the 'May 18 Memorial Foundation.'