In Gwangju, Citizen Army Interpreter In Yo-han Says "Yoon's Martial Law Different from Two-Star Jeon Du-hwan"

Rep. In: "It's Wrong to Equate Yoon's Martial Law with Chun Doo-hwan's"
"We Should Not Entrust the Government to a Cruel Democratic Party"

In-yo Han, a People Power Party lawmaker known for serving as an interpreter for the citizen army at the Jeonnam Provincial Government Office during the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement, stated that "treating President Yoon Seok-yeol's declaration of martial law the same as Chun Doo-hwan's martial law declaration is wrong." In an interview on Channel A Radio's 'Political Signal' on the 17th, In emphasized regarding the pro- and anti-impeachment rallies held on May 15 at Geumnam-ro in Gwangju, "Among the 300 members of the National Assembly, I am the only one directly connected to the 1980 Gwangju uprising," adding, "I was the interpreter for the citizen army at the provincial government office on May 25, 1980."

Inyo Han, a member of the People Power Party, is delivering an acceptance speech for the position of Supreme Council member at the 4th Party Convention of the People Power Party held last July at KINTEX in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province. Photo by Kim Hyun-min

In said, "It was really unpleasant to see people harshly criticizing each other at the rally," and added, "Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the Democratic Party, said, 'How can you hold a rally supporting illegal martial law in Gwangju, where thousands were killed and injured due to Chun Doo-hwan's illegal martial law?' But the martial law declared by the ruler (Yoon Seok-yeol) is completely different from the one declared by a two-star general (Chun Doo-hwan) who seized power. You shouldn't mix those two together."

In described the Democratic Party as "originally a good party," saying, "It was the party that peacefully facilitated a regime change and made Kim Dae-jung president, so I am very, very disappointed and my heart feels very heavy about how it has changed." He shared an episode, saying, "I sent a text message to a certain senior member of the Democratic Party saying, 'Prime Minister Han Duck-soo is a person from Roh Moo-hyun's faction. Don't impeach him,' but that person responded very rudely, accusing me of 'conspiring to incite rebellion' and 'being involved in martial law,' and even went so far as to insult my entire family for four generations." He added, "I felt that entrusting the government to such a cruel Democratic Party would be difficult."

Regarding Yoon Sang-hyun, a pro-Yoon Seok-yeol faction lawmaker, calling former leader Han Dong-hoon "the cause of the conservative collapse," In said, "There is some truth to that, but aren't we still doing well? It's hard to follow that far," expressing disagreement with Yoon's claim.

In, who hails from Suncheon, Jeonnam, was appointed as the Innovation Committee Chairperson of the People Power Party after the party's defeat in the 2023 Seoul Gangseo District Mayor election. He expressed his ambition to "change everything in the People Power Party except for my wife and children," but ended the committee early without any achievements. He was elected at last year's party convention and served as a Supreme Council member under Han Dong-hoon's leadership but resigned along with other pro-Yoon Supreme Council members after the December 3 martial law incident.