hankyoreh

South Korean President Moon Jae-in attended the commemorative ceremony for the anniversary of the Gwangju Democratization Movement of May 18, 1980, at the May 18 National Cemetery, where he gave a commemorative address honoring the movement and its victims. In his speech, Moon emphasize that it’s “our role to uncover the as yet hidden truths” regarding the movement, during which many civilians were killed by gunfire from martial law forces. The issue he mentioned included the people responsible for the killing of innocent civilians, secret mass burials, sexual violence, and the shooting of civilians from a military helicopter. Moon added he hopes for May to transform from “a month of tragedy into a month of hope” for the people of Gwangju and South Jeolla Province.