Gwangju City Holds Resident Briefing on 5·18 Dispatch Aircraft Relocation and Exhibition

At 2 PM on the 25th at the 5·18 Minjuhwa Movement Education Center

Gwangju Metropolitan City (Mayor Kang Gi-jung) announced on the 11th that it will hold a '5·18 Deployment Equipment Relocation and Exhibition Project Resident Briefing Session' at 2 p.m. on the 25th in the large lecture hall on the first floor of the 5·18 Democratization Movement Education Center.

This resident briefing session was prepared to gather residents' opinions following the Gwangju City Council's view that "the relocation and exhibition of 5·18 deployment equipment and armored vehicles to Gwangju may cause secondary trauma and should be carried out carefully with citizens' consent."

The session plans to explain the details of the 5·18 deployment equipment relocation and exhibition project and the exhibition design plan to residents near Chipyeong-dong, May organizations, trauma-related experts, and to listen to their opinions.

In September last year, at the 13th Old Jeonnam Provincial Office Restoration Council, it was proposed to Gwangju City to relocate and exhibit equipment identical to the deployment equipment used during the May 1980 5·18 Gwangju Democratization Movement, and Gwangju City accepted this with the intention of utilizing it for historical education to reflect on the scars of 5·18.

Prior to this, Gwangju City sought opinions from May organizations (5·18 Bereaved Families Association, 5·18 Injured Association, 5·18 Meritorious Persons Association, 5·18 Memorial Foundation, May Mothers' House, etc.) for the project promotion and received unanimous consent for the exhibition installation at the 5·18 Freedom Park.

Also, in January, the agenda was reviewed by the 5·18 Memorial Project Committee, and currently, safety fences have been installed on the parking lot site of the 5·18 Democratization Movement Education Center to temporarily store the equipment.

Park Yong-su, Director of the Democracy, Human Rights, and Peace Bureau, said, "Through the resident briefing session, we will collect diverse opinions from citizens and May organizations to embody the historical significance and symbolism of 5·18, and do our best to make this project one that all citizens can empathize with."