Kim Dong-yeon, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, attended the ‘77th Anniversary Jeju 4·3 Memorial Ceremony’ to console the victims and bereaved families.
He paid tribute. Governor Kim also attended the 76th anniversary memorial ceremony last year.
After the memorial ceremony, Governor Kim held a luncheon meeting with Oh Young-hoon, Governor of Jeju Province, Kang Ki-jung, Mayor of Gwangju Metropolitan City, and about 40 surviving victims and bereaved family members, including Kim Chang-beom, President of the Jeju 4·3 Victims’ Families Association.
At the meeting, Governor Kim said, "Last year, Grandma Hyun Kyung-ah shared the heartbreaking story of losing her husband at the age of 29 while she was 25 years old, with two daughters and another child on the way," adding, "Today, I was deeply moved and my heart was heavy watching the video of Ms. Kim Hee-sook’s descendants finding remains through DNA testing."
He continued, "Regarding 4·3, Gyeonggi Province invited bereaved families to the DMZ two years ago, and even at this moment, a 4·3 exhibition is being held at both the Gyeonggi Provincial Government Office and the Northern Office," adding, "We share the pain and 14.2 million residents of Gyeonggi Province will honor the meaning together."
Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon is walking to the venue to attend the April 3rd Memorial Ceremony held at Jeju 4·3 Peace Park in Jeju City on the 3rd. Photo by Gyeonggi Province
He also said, "I sincerely hope the amendment to the Jeju 4·3 Special Act will be passed soon, and that the UNESCO registration of the Jeju 4·3 incident records next month will go well," adding, "I wish good health and strength to all bereaved families."
Following the meeting, Governor Kim, along with Oh Young-hoon, Governor of Jeju Province, and senior Jeju officials, visited the Jeju 4·3 Peace Park to offer flowers and incense in memory of the victims.
Governor Kim left a message in the guestbook placed in the memorial hall within the 4·3 Peace Park, stating, “We will not part ways with Jeju’s painful history.”
Meanwhile, Gyeonggi Province and Jeju Province signed a mutual cooperation agreement for win-win development at the Gyeonggi Provincial Government Office in September 2023, establishing a close cooperative system on nine tasks.
The nine tasks include ▲policy exchange in carbon neutrality and climate tech ▲joint response to Fukushima nuclear wastewater discharge ▲mutual cooperation to activate the hometown love donation system ▲development of bioindustry utilizing natural and clean resources ▲joint operation of an online marketplace for agricultural specialties ▲mutual supply cooperation of agricultural products for school meals ▲mutual cooperation in tourism branding projects ▲mutual cooperation in fostering and revitalizing the horse industry ▲activation of lifelong education and joint use of content.
According to the agreement, the two institutions have been conducting various cooperative projects, including holding the Gyeonggi-Jeju policy exchange meeting during the Gyeonggi Climate Conference in August last year, sharing progress on Fukushima wastewater discharge, mutual donations to activate the hometown love donation system, and the joint Gyeonggi-Gangwon-Jeju tourism briefing session in December 2023.
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