Lee vows to enshrine May 18 Gwangju movement in Constitution

President Lee Jae Myung pledged Monday to enshrine the May 18 Gwangju democracy movement in the Constitution, casting the 1980 uprising as a precursor of the public resistance that helped halt former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s brief declaration of martial law in December 2024.

“I will do my best to ensure that the spirit of May 18 is included in the preamble to the Constitution,” Lee said during a ceremony marking the 46th anniversary of the uprising in Gwangju.

His remarks came less than two weeks after an effort by the ruling Democratic Party to revise the constitutional preamble failed in the National Assembly upon rejection by opposition lawmakers.

Lee urged both major political parties to support constitutional recognition of the movement’s democratic legacy.

“As this revision would represent a continuing promise by all political groups to the people, I earnestly ask for bipartisan cooperation and resolve from both the ruling and opposition parties,” he said.

Lee also linked the Gwangju uprising — in which residents of the southwestern city were massacred while protesting martial law imposed by then-General Chun Doo Hwan — with popular and legislative resistance against Yoon’s short-lived declaration of martial law on Dec. 3, 2024.

“Even in the darkest moments, Gwangju’s longing for a better world endured, and the spirit of May spread farther,” Lee said, adding that “just as the citizens of Gwangju in May 1980 rose up and confronted martial law forces, the people of Korea in 2024 stopped armed soldiers with their bare hands.”

Lee said the events of May 1980 and December 2024 serve as reminders that “democracy does not defend itself, and that it is sustained only through the aspirations and actions of the people.”

The president also pledged to expand pathways for victims and participants in the Gwangju uprising to receive official recognition.

“Through a direct registration system, we will ensure that not a single sacrifice is overlooked,” Lee said.

Before the ceremony, Lee and first lady Kim Hea Kyung visited the May 18 National Cemetery in northern Gwangju, where the president paid tribute to Yang Chang-geun, a local first-year high school student who was fatally shot by martial law troops.

Lee delivered his speech in front of the former South Jeolla Provincial Office, where civilians made their final stand against troops during the uprising. The building, which underwent restoration work beginning in 2019, officially reopened Monday.

Lee said he hoped the historic building would serve as a “living symbol of Korean democracy where people around the world can learn and remember together.” He also pledged government support to preserve the site as both a memorial to sacrifice and a civic space for future generations.

“Our government will carry forward the spirit of May 18 and continue building a country where the people are truly sovereign,” Lee said. “That is how we fulfill our responsibility to the living and ensure that the sacrifices of May were not in vain.”

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.

BY YOON SUNG-MIN, CHOI KYEONG-HO, MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]