3 days ago
80 citizens, 80 letters: The people delivering Lee their ‘mandate'
President Lee Jae Myung, who began his term with a brief inauguration a day after the June 3 election, was on Friday evening to receive 80 letters of appointment from people representing the diversity and history of Korean society, in the first ceremony of its kind aimed at underscoring the legitimacy of his mandate from the people.
Eighty people, selected to represent each of the 80 years since liberation in 1945, are to take part in the ceremony coinciding with Liberation Day at Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul. Each representative will step onto a circular stage and place a personally written letter of appointment inside a large symbolic cube set at the center in an event beginning at 8 p.m.
Four particular individuals — Mok Jang-gyun, a descendant of an independence fighter, Lee Guk-jong, director of the Armed Forces Daejeon Hospital, Lee Yeon-soo, CEO of NCSoft's artificial intelligence division, and film director Ha Ga-young — will be the last to place their letters.
Among the 80, several figures stand out for their roles in key historical and contemporary moments.
Lee Kyung-pil, 74, represents the year 1950 as one of five infants born aboard a US military vessel during the Hungnam evacuation at the start of the Korean War.
Representing the year 1960 is Lee Hae-hak, an 80-year-old pastor who took part in the April Revolution that brought down President Syngman Rhee's authoritarian rule.
In 2016, professional Go player Lee Sedol, now 42, drew international attention for his competition against Google's artificial intelligence program AlphaGo.
The list also includes married couple Yoo Choong-won and Kim Sook-jung, honored for physically blocking an armored vehicle during former President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law declaration in December 2024.
Kim Joon-young and Sa Gong Hye-ran, who gave birth to Korea's first quintuplets in nearly 40 years last year, were recognized for representing hope and social sustainability amid a deepening demographic crisis.
The ceremony will be attended by former President Moon Jae-in and his wife, as well as the family of the late President Roh Moo-hyun. Religious leaders and public figures across various sectors are also expected to attend.
Former Presidents Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye, along with the spouses of late Presidents Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo, were invited, but will not attend, citing health reasons. Members of the main opposition People Power Party and the minor New Reform Party said they would also not attend, in protest of Lee's special pardon of former Justice Minister Cho Kuk and former Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Yoon Mi-hyang, who was convicted of embezzling donations intended for the victims of sex slavery during Japan's colonial rule.
A total of 3,500 members of the public, selected through an online application process, are to be present. The ceremony is to be broadcast live on KBS from 8 p.m.
According to presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung, the 80 representatives were chosen not only for notable achievements in areas spanning democracy, economic development, science, culture and sports, but also for representing the lived experiences of each generation.
'Together, they embody the everyday resilience and collective progress of the Korean people,' Kang said in a press briefing Thursday.
