President Moon's 4·3 Memorial Speech: "Jeju Residents Only Tried to Protect National Pride" (Update)

Urging the National Assembly and Political Circles to Amend the 4·3 Special Act... "To Reconcile and Unite, We Must Share Jeju's Sorrow"

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Jung-min] President Moon Jae-in attended the 72nd anniversary Jeju 4·3 Victims Memorial Ceremony on the morning of the 3rd and stated, "Compensation according to the law has still not been made. As president, I feel heavy-hearted about the slow progress," adding, "I ask for special interest and support from the political circles and the National Assembly regarding the '4·3 Special Act Amendment.'"

President Moon said, "The people of Jeju Island only wanted to protect the pride of the nation," and emphasized the historical significance by saying, "If we still dream of peace and unification, and seek reconciliation and integration, we must share in Jeju's sorrow."

In particular, President Moon urged, "We must return to the starting point of Jeju 4·3 and thoroughly uncover what was fabricated at the scene of that massacre, what shackled us, and what led Jeju to death."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

President Moon conveyed efforts to set the '4·3 Trauma Center,' which will be piloted from April, as a national center, to publish an 'Additional Investigation Report' on the Jeju 4·3 Incident, and to specify 'civilian victims caused by state public authority' in high school Korean history textbooks to promote accurate historical understanding.

Due to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), the memorial ceremony was held with 150 participants, which is one-hundredth of the number in 2018. About 60 bereaved families, including the chairman of the 4·3 Victims' Families Association, the chairman of the 4·3 Peace Foundation, the 4·3 Working Committee, representatives of the Jeju local community, party leaders (floor leaders), Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae, and Governor of Jeju Won Hee-ryong attended.

At 10 a.m., sirens sounded throughout Jeju, and a moment of silence was observed at the memorial ceremony. The reading of a letter from a bereaved family was done by Kim Dae-ho, a second-year student at Jeju Ara Middle School, who conveyed the story of his grandmother's hard life in the form of a letter.

President Moon said, "4·3 is both our past and our future. Efforts for national reconciliation and peace began on the day of 4·3," adding, "The dream Jeju had in the past is now our dream."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Meanwhile, through a congratulatory message for the '52nd Reserve Forces Day Ceremony,' which was canceled due to COVID-19, President Moon announced, "We plan to further increase the reserve forces training compensation by 2022, considering the level of corporal pay."

President Moon evaluated, "Although training was postponed for the first time since the establishment of the reserve forces due to COVID-19, 2.75 million reservists are still dedicating themselves at this very moment."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.