Chung Cheongrae: "We Must Eradicate Insurrection Forces in Accordance with the Will of the Spirits of Gwangju"

Visit to the Gwangju May 18 Cemetery... "December 3 Insurrection Must Be Punished"
"If We Fail to Hold Insurrectionists Accountable, Tragedy Will Repeat"
"People Power Party Is a Party of Insurrection... No Dialogue"

On August 8, Chung Cheongrae, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, visited the National May 18 Democratic Cemetery in Gwangju and stated, "In accordance with the will of the spirits of Gwangju and the laws of the Republic of Korea, we will eradicate the forces of insurrection."

Democratic Party of Korea leader Chung Cheongrae, floor leader Kim Byunggi, and Supreme Council members are paying their respects at the National May 18 Democratic Cemetery in Buk-gu, Gwangju on the 8th. Photo by Yonhap News

After paying his respects at the cemetery, Chung spoke to reporters and said, "If the martial law attempt by Yoon Sukyeol and his group had succeeded, President Lee Jaemyung and I, Chung Cheongrae, might have become lost souls, our bodies never to be found, with only our spirits being honored as we saw earlier."

He continued, "If we do not thoroughly punish and hold accountable those responsible for the events in Gwangju in May 1980 and the December 3 Martial Law Insurrection, such tragedies may happen again." He added, "If we fail to fully bring to justice those responsible for the December 3 Martial Law Insurrection, there is no telling when another brutal dictator like Yoon Sukyeol might emerge to trample on the Constitution and democracy of the Republic of Korea. We must put an end to this now."

Chung also referred to the "notebook" of Noh Sangwon, former commander of the Defense Security Command, who is accused of plotting martial law in advance, and asked, "Can you compromise with the Noh Sangwon notebook? Can you shake hands with the Noh Sangwon notebook?"

This statement reaffirmed his previous stance of refusing to engage in dialogue with the People Power Party, which he has labeled a "party of insurrection." Earlier, immediately after being elected at the party convention on August 2, Chung declared, "There will be no dialogue without an apology for the insurrection," and stated that he would not recognize the People Power Party as an opposition party.

On this day, Chung and the Democratic Party leadership paid their respects at the National May 18 Democratic Cemetery and then moved to the South Jeolla Provincial Party office to hold a Supreme Council meeting for the Honam region.

Chung stated, "Within the party's Special Committee for Honam Development, we will organize the direction for the development of Honam as a party initiative and propose it to the government," adding, "As party leader, I will do my utmost to help alleviate even a small part of the longstanding grievances of the people of Honam."