"Neglecting His Duties, Only Interested in Personal Gain" Criticism
"At the Very Least, He Should Step Down as Chairman"
Civic groups in Gwangju have criticized Wonsoon Seok, Chairman of the May 18 Memorial Foundation, for joining the election campaign camp of the Democratic Party of Korea, calling it inappropriate.
The May Spirit Preservation Pan-Provincial Citizens' Countermeasures Committee issued a statement on the 16th, saying, "There is controversy in the local community over Chairman Seok's participation as the Executive Chairman of the Election Countermeasures Committee of the Democratic Party's Gwangju City Chapter. The May 18 Memorial Foundation has been entrusted with the critical mission of showing our society the direction it should take. However, at a time when it is already struggling to mobilize all its organizational capabilities to fulfill this task, there is growing criticism that the foundation's chairman is only interested in personal gain," the statement said.
The group further stated, "Ahead of the 45th anniversary of May 18, many citizens from across the country are visiting Gwangju to reflect on the spirit of May that prevented the 12·3 coup d'etat. The chairman of the May 18 Memorial Foundation, who should be welcoming these visitors and dedicating himself to the national and international promotion of May 18, is neglecting his primary duties and instead is joining an election campaign and focusing on electioneering. This is highly inappropriate conduct."
The statement continued, "The founding purpose and declaration of the May 18 Memorial Foundation clearly show that May 18 cannot be the exclusive property of any particular political force. For this reason, former chairmen and key executives have refrained from taking major positions in specific political parties during their terms. Even considering this precedent, Wonsoon Seok's participation as Executive Chairman of the Election Countermeasures Committee for the Democratic Party's Gwangju City Chapter is highly inappropriate conduct."
Additionally, the group pointed out, "Recently, the May 18 Memorial Foundation has been embroiled in several controversies, including the appointment of board members, which has raised concerns about the privatization of the foundation, and ambiguous attitudes regarding the so-called reconciliation show with the Special Forces by some May 18 organizations. If Wonsoon Seok insists on serving as Executive Chairman of a specific party's election campaign committee for personal reasons and wishes to engage in electioneering, he should at the very least step down from his position as Chairman of the May 18 Memorial Foundation to fulfill his minimum moral responsibility."
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