President Lee Jaemyung has decided not to attend the Citizens' March rally held on December 3 to mark the first anniversary of the declaration of martial law.
The presidential office announced to the media that afternoon, "President Lee initially planned to participate in the 'December 3 Martial Law and Treason Liquidation and End, Social Reform Citizens' March' scheduled for 7 p.m. today (in front of the National Assembly), but ultimately decided not to attend due to security concerns, including potential threats."
The presidential office explained that President Lee had considered various options, such as mingling directly with citizens or giving a speech on stage. However, there were significant concerns about security risks due to the nature of the event, which involves an unspecified large number of participants.
Earlier, after delivering a special statement, President Lee said during a Q&A session, "I intended to quietly attend as a citizen to remind myself never to let such events (like martial law) happen again," but added that the security service was opposed to his attendance for safety reasons.
The Citizens' March on this day is organized by the Civil Action Committee for the Liquidation of Treason and Social Reform Emergency Action Memorial Committee, with participation from the Democratic Party of Korea, the Rebuilding Korea Party, the Progressive Party, the Basic Income Party, and the Social Democratic Party.
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