The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs has judged the 'agenda resolved at the regular general meeting' of the 5·18 Democratic Movement Injured Persons Association, a public legal entity, held last March to be invalid, and it appears that the matters resolved thereafter will be reconsidered.
In particular, regarding the disciplinary action against former Injured Persons Association President Hwang Il-bong, Moon Jong-yeon, the current acting president, stated that the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs did not understand the court's ruling and proceeded with a one-sided interpretation, maintaining the position not to withdraw the disciplinary action, which is expected to escalate internal conflicts within the Injured Persons Association.
Hwang Il-bong, former chairman of the May 18 Democratic Uprising Injured Association, is holding a press conference in front of the Injured Association office in Seo-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City on the morning of the 20th. [Photo by Min Hyun-gi]
According to the 5·18 Democratic Movement Injured Persons Association on the 20th, the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs sent an official letter on the 19th declaring the resolutions of the Injured Persons Association's regular general meeting held last March invalid.
The reason is that among the 179 members who attended the general meeting, 168 lost their qualifications after being declared ineligible by the Supreme Court in September, thus failing to meet the quorum required for the meeting's resolutions to be valid.
Therefore, the Injured Persons Association must re-resolve 11 items, including the approval of revenue and expenditure budgets for last year and this year, this year's business plan and general meeting expenses, and amendments to the articles of association.
In response, former President Hwang held a press conference on the 20th in front of the 5·18 Democratic Movement Injured Persons Association office in Seo-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City, claiming that "according to the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs' judgment, my disciplinary action is invalid."
At the March general meeting, the method of submitting disciplinary requests for executives changed from the secretary-general submitting to the board of directors to the director of the organization submitting the request. Since Hwang's disciplinary action was carried out under the changed method, he argues that the disciplinary action has no effect.
On the other hand, Moon Jong-yeon, the acting president after Hwang's suspension, said, "Even assuming that all resolutions of the March 18 general meeting are invalid, all regulations enacted or amended by the board of directors are unaffected," adding, "Due to personnel changes, the Ministry's staff had not even grasped the court's recent ruling, and the Ministry's one-sided interpretation caused discord."
A Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs official said, "It remains true that the partial amendment to the disciplinary operation regulations discussed at the Injured Persons Association's regular general meeting last March is invalid, but since the disciplinary actions taken by the board of directors have been referred to the court, the court's judgment must be awaited."
Earlier, former President Hwang received a five-year suspension of qualifications from the board of directors and filed an injunction with the court claiming the disciplinary action was unfair and requesting suspension of the disciplinary action and the board's resolution, but the court dismissed it, and he immediately filed an appeal.
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