"Yoon Government's First Memorial Ceremony, but President and Ruling Party Leaders Absent"
The Democratic Party of Korea criticized the fact that President Yoon Suk-yeol and the leadership of the People Power Party, including its leader Kim Ki-hyun, did not attend the April 3rd memorial ceremony. The Democratic Party took issue with remarks related to the April 3rd incident made by People Power Party Supreme Council member Tae Young-ho and Kim Kwang-dong, chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission on Past Affairs, criticizing the government and ruling party's sincerity in resolving the April 3rd issue.
On the 3rd, Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party, said at an on-site Supreme Council meeting held in Jeju, "Jeju carries the pain of the April 3rd incident, the greatest tragedy in our modern history. The residents of Jeju have overcome harsh wounds, practicing the spirit of forgiveness and reconciliation, asking the deceased to rest in peace and the living to hold hands," adding, "The far-right behavior of the government and ruling party is insulting the spirit of April 3rd."
He continued, "The ruling party leadership, who made the outrageous claim that April 3rd was triggered by Kim Il-sung's orders, has yet to apologize, and the person who disparaged April 3rd as a communist-led riot still holds the position of chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission," pointing out, "President Yoon's promise of a complete resolution of April 3rd has failed."
Lee mentioned that banners stating "April 3rd is a communist riot" have been posted in downtown Jeju and that groups like the Reconstruction Northwest Youth Party have appeared, saying, "The Democratic Party will hasten the enactment of a special law abolishing the statute of limitations on anti-human rights state violence crimes and actively support the registration of April 3rd records as a UNESCO Memory of the World." He added, "We will also fully support the party-level efforts for the DNA identification of April 3rd victims, which Oh Young-hoon is actively promoting."
Park Hong-geun, floor leader of the Democratic Party, said, "One year ago at the memorial ceremony, President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol said, 'We will strive to fully restore the honor of the April 3rd victims and their families,' but at today's first memorial ceremony since the Yoon administration began, neither the president nor the leader of the ruling party or key leadership are present," criticizing, "The behavior of President Yoon and his administration, who only briefly use these events when it helps in elections, has been consistent from the May 18 Democratic Uprising to Jeju April 3rd."
Kim Hee-seo, senior spokesperson for the Justice Party, stated in a commentary, "President Yoon said he could not attend the April 3rd memorial ceremony because he is busy with overseas trips in March and April, yet he continued his visits to the Yeongnam region last weekend to rally his support base," pointing out, "He revisited Daegu Seomun Market, which he had visited three times before, and even threw a surprise first pitch at the Daegu baseball opening ceremony, so no citizen will believe the excuse that he could not attend the national April 3rd memorial event due to scheduling conflicts."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
