Gwangju City Demands Immediate Disposal of History Museum Published Booklet

Statement... "5·18, calling it reactionary and treasonous is absurd"

Gwangju City Hall building exterior.

On the 23rd, Gwangju City urged, "Immediately discard and apologize for the booklet '100 Years of Korean History (1948?2048)' published by the National Museum of Korean Contemporary History under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on July 15."

In a statement released that day, the city claimed, "This booklet contains absurd content that distorts the truth of the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement, stating that 'the May 18, 1980 event certainly obstructed the strengthening of the foundation of democracy and, as a result, was a reactionary and treasonous act extremely harmful to the nation.'"

The city continued, "It is unbelievable that a booklet distorting May 18 was published under the name of a national institution," and added, "The author served as the executive chairman of the '60th Anniversary of the Founding of the Republic of Korea Commemoration Project Committee,' which was mainly composed of New Right members. We have doubts about how this person was selected as the author and what the intention behind publishing this booklet was."

Furthermore, the city stated, "Despite President Yoon Suk-yeol’s pledge in his campaign promises and inaugural speech to include the spirit of May 18 in the preamble of the Constitution, a national institution brazenly distorts May 18, casting doubt on the sincerity of the current administration," emphasizing, "All responsibility lies entirely with the National Museum of Korean Contemporary History. We urge the museum to publicly apologize, hold those responsible accountable, and discard the published booklet."

Meanwhile, Gwangju City added, "We lament the reality that even national institutions distort the truth of May 18 and will accelerate efforts to include the spirit of May 18 in the preamble of the Constitution."