Gwangju National Assembly Electees Pledge to Include '5·18 Spirit' in the Constitution

Visiting the National 5·18 Democratic Cemetery

Gwangju region lawmakers-elect paid tribute at the National 5·18 Democratic Cemetery on the 17th, a day before the 44th anniversary of the May 18 Democratic Uprising, pledging to enshrine the spirit of 5·18 in the preamble of the Constitution during the 22nd National Assembly.

The Gwangju lawmakers-elect (Dongnam-gap Jeong Jin-wook, Dongnam-eul An Do-geol, Seogu-gap Jo In-cheol, Seogu-eul Yang Bu-nam, Bukgu-gap Jeong Jun-ho, Bukgu-eul Jeon Jin-sook, Gwangsan-gap Park Gyun-taek, Gwangsan-eul Min Hyeong-bae) visited the Eternal Flame Memorial Hall within the National 5·18 Democratic Cemetery at 2 p.m. that day to pay their respects and lay flowers.

To signify their commitment to enshrining the May spirit in the Constitution, they wrote in the guestbook, "We will definitely enshrine the spirit of 5·18 in the preamble of the Constitution."

They stated, “Over the past two years, democracy, which the May 1980 Gwangju uprising achieved through bloodshed, has fallen into a crisis due to the tyrannical rule of the Yoon Seok-yeol administration and prosecutorial dictatorship. Just as the citizens of Gwangju rose up resolutely against unjust power, we will restore the fallen democracy and ensure the spirit of May is carried on by enshrining the spirit of 5·18 in the preamble of the Constitution during the 22nd National Assembly.”

Before the tribute, the lawmakers-elect attended the 44th anniversary memorial ceremony for the May 18 Democratic Uprising, hosted by the 5·18 Bereaved Families Association.

Meanwhile, on the 13th, the Gwangju lawmakers-elect held a meeting at the National Assembly Members’ Office Building to promote a constitutional amendment for enshrining the spirit of 5·18 in the Constitution.

They argued, “Enshrining the spirit of 5·18 in the Constitution is the only way to reflect on the history of past powers that exercised illegal and unjust public authority causing sacrifice to the people and to restore the disrupted national identity. The 22nd National Assembly must immediately push for a constitutional amendment to enshrine the spirit of the May 18 Democratic Uprising in the preamble of the Constitution as soon as it convenes.”