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Mass memorial should help promote national unity
Wednesday will mark the 42nd anniversary of the May 18, 1980, pro-democracy movement in Gwangju. This year's commemoration carries significance as President Yoon Suk-yeol asked all his senior aides and lawmakers of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) to attend a state memorial ceremony to be held at the May 18th National Cemetery in the southwestern city.
It is unprecedented for a conservative president and his party to hold such a large-scale ceremony to pay tribute to pro-democracy protesters killed during the uprising against the military junta led by Chun Doo-hwan. The bloody suppression of the movement claimed the lives of more than 200 and wounded 1,800 others.
We welcome Yoon's move as it demonstrates his determination to honor the victims and hold dear the legacy of the pro-democracy movement. In his commemoration speech, Yoon is likely to reveal his plan to stipulate the spirit of the movement in the Constitution. If such a plan is put into action, the May 18 uprising will be enshrined in the Constitution, together with the March 1 Independence Movement in 1919 and the April 19 Student Revolution in 1960.
The May 18 anniversary should be a turning point in shedding light on the tragic incident by fully revealing the truth behind the massacre. Former members of the military junta have so far remained silent on who ordered troops to fire at pro-democracy protesters, although the late Presidents Chun and Roh Tae-woo were convicted of treason for the bloody crackdown.
True reconciliation is possible only when perpetrators acknowledge and apologize for their atrocities and victims forgive them. Yet it is regrettable that many surviving perpetrators have refused to admit their misdeeds while denying their involvement in the killings. Even some right-wing members of the PPP's predecessor party had tried to distort facts about the movement, describing protesters as "mobs" or "rioters." Some extreme rightists made groundless allegations that North Korean agents incited the uprising.
But the May 18 uprising has been firmly established as the pro-democracy movement against the military junta, which took power through a military coup following the assassination of then President Park Chung-hee in October 1979. Therefore the country should no longer delay including the uprising in the Constitution in order to defend our hard-won democracy.
Another good news is that the Yoon government has decided to allow all participants in the memorial ceremony to sing together "March for the Beloved," a protest song symbolizing the uprising. The decision will end conflicts over the song, which former conservative presidents banned memorial participants from singing along to, inviting criticism from bereaved families and progressives.
The Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and other opposition parties should not try to diminish Yoon's move by arguing that the massive memorial ceremony is aimed at wooing voters in Gwangju and the Jeolla provinces ahead of the June 1 local election. We hope that the event will serve as an opportunity to overcome regional antagonism, go beyond ideological conflicts, forge bipartisanship and promote national unity.
