May Organizations and the Democratic Party Urge Candidate Joo Dong-sik to Apologize for 5·18 Defamation Remarks

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Yoon Jamin] The political circle and May 18 organizations have strongly criticized Joo Dong-sik, the United Future Party candidate for Gwangju Seo-gu (Gap) in the April 15 general election, for his ‘May 18 denigration remarks.’

The May 18 Memorial Foundation and the three May organizations (Democratic Merit Family Association, Democratic Movement Disabled Veterans Association, Detained and Injured Association) issued a statement on the 9th, saying, “United Future Party candidate Joo Dong-sik, who mocked May 18 and the citizens of Gwangju, must resign immediately.”

The organizations pointed out, “Another disgraceful political show has occurred by a politician who is solely interested in elections and only sucks the juice of political power,” adding, “In 2018, candidate Joo claimed on his personal Facebook that if 1,000 Sewol ferries were made and sunk, high-quality jobs such as those in the truth investigation committee could be created.”

They also added, “He is active as a co-representative of the Anti-Japanese Statue Truth Investigation Joint Countermeasure Committee, which supports the ‘Anti-Warrior Statue Wednesday Regular Rally’ against the Wednesday rallies demanding the truth and apology for the Japanese comfort women issue.”

Furthermore, they emphasized, “The same party’s candidate Cha Myung-jin (Gyeonggi Bucheon-byeong) made inappropriate remarks toward the families and volunteers of the Sewol ferry disaster, candidate Kim Dae-ho (Seoul Gwanak-gap) disparaged the disabled and elderly, and lawmakers Kim Soon-rye, Kim Jin-tae, and Lee Jong-myung made distorted and outrageous remarks about the May 18 Democratic Movement.”

They continued, “Candidate Joo Dong-sik and the United Future Party have once again hurt the spirits who made noble sacrifices to protect democracy, the injured and bereaved families who still carry pain and sorrow, and the citizens of Gwangju,” urging, “Candidate Joo Dong-sik, who mocked the citizens of Gwangju, must resign immediately, and United Future Party’s General Election Committee Chairman Kim Jong-in and party leadership must show responsible actions regarding the continuous offensive remarks by their candidates.”

On the same day, the Gwangju Metropolitan City branch of the Democratic Party also issued a statement demanding that candidate Joo “apologize to the citizens of Gwangju and the May 18 spirits.”

United Future Party candidate Joo Dong-sik not only denigrated Gwangju as “a city obsessed only with the May 18 memorial rites” but also insulted President Moon Jae-in as “the Governor-General of South Korea under Xi Jinping’s orders.”

The Democratic Party’s Gwangju branch strongly criticized, “We cannot contain our anger at such ‘outrageous remarks’ coming from a politician running in Gwangju, the sacred place of democratization, who denigrates May 18.”

They added, “The ‘forces that exploit the tragedy of Gwangju and May 18 and try to bind Gwangju and Honam to the past’ that candidate Joo claims are none other than himself and the United Future Party,” pointing out, “Candidate Joo not only spews shameless outrageous remarks that incite Gwangju’s anger and hatred for his political gain but also insults the president chosen by the people as ‘Governor-General of South Korea,’ fostering conflict and division.”

They further stated, “Moreover, he shamelessly claims to be from Gwangju while uttering unmentionable outrageous remarks, leaving the citizens of Gwangju aghast,” urging, “Candidate Joo Dong-sik and the United Future Party must no longer insult May 18 and the citizens of Gwangju and must repent to the citizens and the May 18 spirits.”

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