"Lee Jae Myung's Visit Is a Political Show"... Gwangju Civil Society Protests

Gwangju Emergency Action: "Syngman Rhee and Park Chung Hee Are the Roots of Rebellion"
"Not National Unity but Distortion of History, Democratic Party Must Wake Up"

Civil society groups in Gwangju have strongly protested against Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae Myung's visit to the graves of former presidents Syngman Rhee and Park Chung Hee.

Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae Myung is giving a greeting at the AI memory semiconductor company meeting held on the 28th at SK Hynix Icheon Campus in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province. Photo by Yonhap News

On the 29th, Gwangju Emergency Action for Liquidation of Rebellion and Social Reform, a coalition of 186 civic and social organizations, issued a statement criticizing the Democratic Party, saying, "Stop the political show that the people do not want, and present a clear alternative for ending the forces of rebellion."

The group stated, "Syngman Rhee and Park Chung Hee massacred citizens to seize power, and suppressed the people's voices and threatened their lives through coups. They are the roots of the 12·12 military coup forces, including Chun Doo Hwan."

They continued, "The Yoon Suk Yeol administration is based on the New Right historical perspective that venerates Syngman Rhee as the 'Father of the Nation.' Lee's visit to the graves will ultimately result in supporting the Yoon administration's distortion of history."

The previous day, Lee visited the National Cemetery in Dongjak-gu, Seoul, and paid respects at the graves of former presidents Syngman Rhee, Park Chung Hee, Kim Young Sam, and Kim Dae Jung. This was his first official event as a presidential candidate. Lee explained that his visit was intended "to achieve national unity beyond political polarization."

However, Gwangju Emergency Action stressed, "National unity cannot be achieved through compromise with forces that glorify illegal martial law and dictatorship. True unity must be a process of ending extreme hatred and winner-takes-all logic, and building a society where human dignity is guaranteed."

The statement added, "We must correct the past that damaged democracy and set clear standards so that illegal martial law can never take root again."