[Full Text] Kim Dong-yeon, Governor of Gyeonggi-do, 3.1 Movement Day Commemorative Speech

Kim Dong-yeon, Governor of Gyeonggi Province

I will remember the past.

I will move forward into the future.

Respected residents of Gyeonggi Province, independence patriots and their families,

Today marks the 104th anniversary of the ‘March 1st Independence Movement,’

a day when the streets were filled with cries of ‘Daehan Doknip Manse’ (Long live Korean independence).

First, I express my deep respect to the patriotic martyrs and independence activists

who devoted themselves to Korean independence.

On such a meaningful day,

I thank the families of independence patriots and the residents of Gyeonggi Province

who have gathered here at ‘Dodamso,’ a place that embraces the people of the province.

Through a short one-act play,

we have once again felt the cries of that day here today.

The cries of the ‘March 1st Independence Movement’

still remain as cries we shout today.

The ideals of freedom, equality, and democracy spread

and bore fruit in the establishment of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea.

Based on that fruit, we have continuously built

the Republic of Korea as it is today.

Respected residents and families of independence patriots,

Gyeonggi Province is now vigorously leaping forward as the ‘Capital of Opportunity.’

This year, Gyeonggi Province’s administration focuses on ‘livelihood’ and ‘future.’

We have implemented heating cost measures for vulnerable groups the fastest.

We are also proactively and thoroughly preparing livelihood measures such as price controls on transportation fares, financial support for small business owners,

and protection of self-employed workers through local currency.

We will also thoroughly prepare for the future

through attracting 100 trillion won in investment centered on future innovative industries,

swift responses to energy transition, and nurturing talent for the 4th Industrial Revolution.

Even as we move vigorously toward the future,

there is history we must not forget.

Today, through the lives of three people living in Gyeonggi Province,

I would like to reflect on our past.

The first person I would like to introduce is the only surviving independence activist in Gyeonggi Province,

Patriot Oh Hee-ok.

Patriot Oh Hee-ok is a member of a ‘prestigious independence movement family’ who devoted themselves over three generations, starting with her grandfather who was a militia leader.

However, recalling the hardships of the times when her entire family was involved in the independence movement,

she shed tears.

Due to health reasons, she has been at the Central Veterans Hospital for five years after leaving her home in Yongin,

and she always longs for her hometown.

Currently, preparations are underway at the Yongin ‘Independence Movement Exhibition Hall’

to display her birthplace and relics.

I once again pray that Patriot Oh Hee-ok will return to her hometown in good health.

The second person I would like to introduce is Grandma Kim Seong-ju, who lives in Anyang.

Grandma Kim was deceived by a Japanese principal

and was conscripted for forced labor by the Japanese colonial government after graduating from elementary school.

She suffered forced labor at the ‘Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ aircraft factory in Nagoya,

and even lost a finger in an accident.

She returned home without proper wages or compensation.

Until winning a lawsuit at the Korean Supreme Court in November 2018,

Grandma Kim fought vigorously alongside other forced labor victims.

Grandma Kim’s lifelong wish is

a sincere apology and proper compensation from Mitsubishi.

I hope the day comes soon when her wish is fulfilled.

The third person I would like to introduce is Mr. Kim (name withheld).

Mr. Kim was confined at ‘Seongam Academy’ during his childhood,

and was beaten with a stick and nearly blinded for picking up sorghum ears to eat because he was hungry.

‘Seongam Academy’ was a place where thousands of children were subjected to forced labor and violence under the pretext of reforming vagrants.

This was a brutal state violence that began during the Japanese colonial period in 1942 and continued until the era of appointed governors long ago.

As Governor of Gyeonggi Province, I sincerely apologized to the victims.

Although it is a matter of the past,

I believe it is something we living today must resolve.

Gyeonggi Province provides consolation money of 5 million won to the victims of Seongam Academy.

We also provide a monthly living support allowance of 200,000 won,

medical support, and emotional stabilization programs.

Currently, victims of Seongam Academy from all over the country are coming to Gyeonggi Province.

While we expected 70 victims to apply, the number has already exceeded 120.

I sincerely hope that the pain of the victims of Seongam Academy, which stems from the Japanese colonial period,

can be comforted even a little.

The history we have passed is a compass for the future.

Gratitude and respect to the patriots.

Support and solidarity to the victims of forced labor.

Support and healing to the victims of state violence such as those of Seongam Academy.

Gyeonggi Province will cherish and practice this together with 14 million residents.

Respected residents and families of independence patriots,

Now, Gyeonggi Province, carrying the dream shouted by the entire nation 104 years ago,

aims to provide 14 million residents with more opportunities, fairer opportunities, and better opportunities.

However, our society today has too many obstacles blocking new opportunities.

Due to inadequate responses to the economic downturn, jobs are decreasing.

Our economic dynamism, once our strength, is disappearing.

Rather than creating more opportunities, opportunities are shrinking.

Our social structure is one of ‘unfair opportunities’ and ‘the rich get richer, the poor get poorer.’

This is due to unfairness, privilege, and vested interests represented by ‘Dad’s chance’.

Everyone talks about fairness, but it is only fairness for the strong.

What we need is not ‘fairness for the strong’ but ‘opportunities for the weak.’

Gyeonggi Province will create opportunities for the weak, and furthermore, for everyone.

We will break down the dam of vested interests that trap opportunities,

allowing opportunities trapped inside to flow like a river.

The change that starts in Gyeonggi Province will spread throughout the Republic of Korea,

transforming it from a ‘republic of vested interests’ to a ‘country overflowing with opportunities.’

Just as the cries of ‘Daehan Doknip Manse’ shouted on every street 104 years ago

became the wish of the entire nation and bore fruit,

the change of ‘Opportunity Capital Gyeonggi’ will lead the future of the Republic of Korea.

‘The center of change, Opportunity Gyeonggi’

will remember the past and move toward a future of opportunity.

Thank you.

March 1, 2023

Governor of Gyeonggi Province Kim Dong-yeon