Controversy Over Derogatory Phrase '5·18 Manju Meritorious Descendant (Bereaved Family) Certificate' Boldly Displayed on Government Website

'Government24' Muan Public Postpartum Care Center Support Guide Listed

Dozens of Cases Also Appear in Other Cities...Government's 5·18 Awareness Questioned

The official government portal site of the Republic of Korea, 'Government24,' contains words and phrases that appear to belittle the May 18 Democratic Movement. The photo is a screenshot from Government24.

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] The South Korean government’s official portal site ‘Government24’ is embroiled in controversy for blatantly displaying a phrase that seems to belittle the May 18 Democratic Movement.

Moreover, it has been pointed out that this problematic phrase has been used for several years, not just recently, indicating lax management.

On the 26th, the ‘Government24’ homepage, which provides integrated services for service, civil complaints, and policy information, under the Public Postnatal Care Center’s postnatal care cost support (supervising agency: Jeonnam Muan Health Center), listed in the required documents section the phrase ‘5·18 Manju Merit Badge (Bereaved Family)’. This is meant to refer to the ‘5·18 Democratic Merit Badge (Bereaved Family) Certificate’, but to anyone reading it, it seemed to emphasize the word ‘jjajeung’ (annoyance).

Additionally, the eligibility criteria for the project also stated ‘Bereaved family or relatives according to the 5·18 Manju Merit Badge’. The problem is the use of ‘Manju’ instead of ‘Minju’ (Democratic). The correct phrase should be ‘Bereaved family or relatives according to the 5·18 Democratic Merit Badge’.

What is even more absurd is that the last modification date is November 23, 2018, indicating that this phrase has been in use for at least 1 year and 5 months.

The project details posted on the Government24 site can be personally modified by the responsible officials of the supervising agencies using their digital certificates.

Furthermore, searching for ‘5·18 Manju’ merit badge on portal sites yields dozens of Government24 guidance websites, highlighting the lack of proper management.

If you search for the term "5·18 Manju," which seems to disparage the May 18 Democratic Uprising, on portal sites, dozens of posts related to "Government24" can be found.

Similar situations were confirmed in Gwangju Metropolitan City and Daegu Metropolitan City as well.

In the ‘Public Parking Lot Parking Fee Reduction’ content of the Traffic Policy Division, Traffic and Construction Bureau of Gwangju Metropolitan City, last modified on the 2nd, it also states ‘Act on the Honor of 5·18 Manju Merit Badge recipients’, and in the ‘Discount Service for Use of Sports Facilities’ of the Culture and Sports Division, Policy and Tourism Bureau of Dalseong County, Daegu Metropolitan City, it also says ‘5·18 Manju Merit Badge’.

If the word ‘Minju’ (Democratic) being written as ‘Manju’ was only one or two cases, it could have been seen as a typographical error during the writing process, but dozens of such cases confirmed by our report raise ‘reasonable suspicion’ of hacking or intentional acts, and even cast doubt on the government’s level of awareness regarding the May 18 event.

A representative from Muan County Health Center said, “In the initial project plan and documents from 2016, it was written as ‘5·18 Minju’, so it is difficult to understand why it is written like this on the homepage,” and added, “We will review the modification history and accurately investigate the circumstances.”

An official from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety stated, “It is impossible that the official site was hacked,” and added, “Each content is modified by the responsible local government officials, so we need to talk to them to confirm.”

Regarding this, organizations related to May 18 expressed their astonishment.

Cho Jintae, Executive Director of the 5·18 Memorial Foundation, said, “One of the tactics used by far-right YouTubers obsessed with making money by distorting and belittling the May 18 event is to create controversy over fake merit badge holders, so I was shocked to see public institutions posting phrases that give a similar impression in their project promotions,” and added, “If this is a wording error, it should be corrected immediately, and we also urge public institutions to be more careful.”

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