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Korea Herald
2 days ago
- Politics
- Korea Herald
Gwangju Uprising memorial sees spike in visitors: report
May visitors to May 18th National Cemetery reach highest figure since 2018 A total of 242,503 people in May visited the graves of those who participated in the Gwangju Democratic Uprising in 1980, according to local media reports on Tuesday. The monthly visitor count at the May 18th National Cemetery was the highest since 2018 and marked an on-year increase of over 40,000 from to May 2024, the Korean-language news agency News 1 said, citing the operators of the government facility under the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs. The number of visitors usually peaks in May around the anniversary of the nationwide protest against Chun Doo-hwan's junta, which took power via a military coup in December 1979. The highest figures for any other month in 2025 and 2024 were 12,287 in April this year, and 11,202 in April last year. The number of May visitors had usually exceeded 300,000 prior to 2019 but hovered in the 200,000 range over the past three years, plummeting to 5,822 in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The political turmoil following former President Yoon Suk Yeol's imposition of martial law in December is thought to have renewed public interest in the historic citizens' protest against the military regime. Yoon's martial law decree, which led to his impeachment and removal from office, was the first to be imposed in the country since 1981, under Chun's authority. Chun was not yet president when martial law was extended nationwide on May 18, 1980, but he had effectively been leader of the junta since the coup a year before. Yoon's much-disputed martial law declaration led to comparisons with Chun. The results of the June 3 presidential election showed that 84.8 percent of voters in Gwangju voted for Yoon's political rival and eventual successor, Lee Jae-myung, who also garnered over 80 percent of the vote in both North and South Jeolla Provinces. Lee himself drew a comparison between Yoon and Chun at a commemoration of the Gwangju Uprising's 45th anniversary last month, when he attended as a presidential candidate. He said the spirit of the Gwangju citizens that refused to back down in the face of military oppression in 1980 has been inherited by those who opposed the dispatch of troops to the National Assembly under Yoon's martial law decree. Those who have been recognized by the state as having died while participating in the Gwangju Uprising are entitled to be buried at the May 18th National Cemetery, in accordance with the Act on the Honorable Treatment of Persons of Distinguished Service to the May 18 Democratization Movement. Those who have relinquished their Korean nationality or have been convicted of certain crimes can have their burial rights revoked.
Hans India
26-04-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
S Korea: Acting Prez Han calls for efforts to upgrade democracy amid speculation on presidential bid
Seoul: South Korean Acting President Han Duck-soo called for efforts to achieve a "more mature democracy" in South Korea on Saturday amid growing speculation he may announce a bid to run in the upcoming presidential election. "We will work to realise a more mature democracy to faithfully transmit to our future generations the values of liberal democracy, upheld by the April 19 civil revolt," Han said in a congratulatory message at the national breakfast prayer meeting celebrating the 1960 pro-democracy movement. Han's message was read by Lee Hee-wan, the deputy minister of the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs. "I hope South Korea becomes a country that leads the world in all areas of politics, economy and society by uniting the hearts of all people," he said. Han's message came amid speculation the acting president could be a potential game changer for the conservative camp in the June election to be held to pick a new leader after former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's ouster over his failed martial law decree. Han has declined to comment on his possible candidacy for the election. "The April 19 revolution is a shining source of pride for us that marked a milestone in the history of democracy, not only for South Korea but for the world," he said, mentioning the historic event's inscription on UNESCO's Memory of the World Register. UNESCO approved the inscription of the April 19 revolution archives in its register in 2023. The April 19 revolution was touched off by public anger over vote rigging in the presidential election by the Rhee Syng-man government in power at the time, Yonhap news agency reported. A series of nationwide student protests culminated on April 19, with hundreds of demonstrators killed or wounded in clashes with armed police. The uprising ultimately forced Rhee to step down after 12 years in office. The liberal Democratic Party (DP) strongly criticised Han amid speculation about his potential run for the presidency, accusing him of "shamelessly testing the waters" for a run. DP spokesperson Rep. Hwang Jung-ah said in a written briefing, "The people will judge acting President Han, who has made the state affairs a tool for personal ambition." Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo, a contender in the presidential candidate primary of the People Power Party, also urged Han to abandon such a bid, saying, "It is time for us to regain our composure and choose a candidate who can truly defeat Lee Jae-myung," referring to the leading DP candidate.
