'38th Anniversary of the June 10 Democracy Movement' President Lee: "The People Set the Nation Right Like That Day... Let Us Build a People-Sovereign State"

Revealed Through the June 10 Democracy Movement Commemoration Address
Message Delivered by Senior Secretary for Political Affairs Woo Sangho

On the 38th anniversary of the June 10 Democracy Movement, President Lee Jaemyung stated, "Let us build a nation where every single citizen is the true owner. Let us create a genuine people-sovereign state, the Republic of Korea."

On June 10, at the Democracy Movement Memorial Hall in Yongsan-gu, Seoul (formerly Namyeong-dong Anti-Communist Investigation Office), key attendees including Woo Wonsik, Speaker of the National Assembly, Park Chandae, Acting Leader of the Democratic Party, Kim Yongtae, Emergency Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, and Woo Sangho, Senior Secretary for Political Affairs, applauded during the June 10 Democracy Movement Commemoration Ceremony and the opening ceremony of the Democracy Movement Memorial Hall. 2025.06.10 Photo by Yoon Dongju

President Lee delivered this message through a commemorative address read by Senior Secretary for Political Affairs Woo Sangho at the ceremony held on the morning of June 10 at the Democracy Movement Memorial Hall in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. The Democracy Movement Memorial Hall is the former Namyeong-dong Anti-Communist Investigation Office, where coercive interrogations and human rights abuses against pro-democracy figures once took place. On June 4, the first day of his term, President Lee used the term "People Sovereignty Government" when announcing his appointments, and this nickname, which reflects the new administration's governing philosophy, has been continuously used since the government was launched.

President Lee said, "Last winter, we faced a threatening reality where democracy, which seemed unshakable, collapsed in an instant." He continued, "As the constitutional order was destroyed and democracy crumbled, our people?just as they did on that day in June 1987?rushed out without hesitation and helped set the nation back on course."

President Lee further emphasized, "Democracy does not maintain itself or remain complete on its own. Only when we remember the past and act and practice for the future can democracy be preserved and advance." He added, "The democracy we will build will become even stronger, grounded in respect, inclusiveness, and unity."

Meanwhile, regarding the transformation of the former Namyeong-dong Anti-Communist Investigation Office into the Democracy Movement Memorial Hall, President Lee remarked, "This is not simply a commemorative facility, but a living history of democracy in the Republic of Korea," and stated, "It will become a cherished birthplace of our democracy."