Lee Appeals for Support in Suwon: "June 3 Election Is the Final Moment of the Revolution of Light"

Lee Holds Major Campaign Rally at Yeongdong Market Entrance in Suwon on the 26th
Mentions Han Kang's "Human Acts," Emphasizing "History Continues"

Lee Jaemyung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, linked the citizens who stood against the 12·3 Martial Law in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, with the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement, emphasizing that the presidential election to be held on June 3 is the final stage in completing the Revolution of Light.

Yonhap News

On the 26th, at the entrance of Yeongdong Market in Paldalmun, Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, Lee appealed for support by saying, "Young people in their 20s and 30s, holding delicate cheering sticks, and our citizens stepped forward with their bare hands and subdued them (the martial law forces). I hope you will face the final moment of the June 3 Revolution of Light with confidence and a sense of responsibility, believing that the fate of this country, my own future, and the lives of my children are in our hands."

Lee associated the actions of citizens during the 12·3 Martial Law with the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement. He said, "The writer Han Kang once asked, 'Can the past help the present?' She said she had such doubts while looking at the history of the massacre during the Gwangju Democratization Movement."

Lee continued, "There was a 19-year-old high school student named Moon Jaehak who was killed by martial law troops at dawn on May 27 while resisting the May 18 coup. Every time I visit Gwangju, his mother greets me as if I am her son, saying, 'Son, have you come?' Han Kang used Moon Jaehak as the model for her work 'Human Acts,' which went on to win the Nobel Prize in Literature."

Lee emphasized, "The name of the main character in the novel inspired by Moon Jaehak is the same as my son's name. It may be a coincidence, but this is how history continues." He added, "Because of the souls who sacrificed themselves during the Gwangju 5·18, the martial law troops dispatched to the scene on December 3 last year worried, 'Even if we participate in this martial law, massacre and arrest citizens, and the coup succeeds, won't we eventually be caught and punished?' This concern led them to actually neglect and refuse the president's order to seize control of the National Assembly."

He also said, "Our citizens remembered Gwangju and, to protect the National Assembly, ran there in slippers on their way to the supermarket. In the end, thanks to the resistance of the people and the passive attitude of the martial law troops toward their orders, we were able to avoid a large-scale bloodshed."

Lee stated, "If the 12·3 rebellion forces win the 6·3 election and return, the future of the Republic of Korea and your stable lives will all come to an end. It is only natural to vote in the June 3 presidential election to overcome the rebellion, and isn't it obvious that we must win and deliver a decisive blow and judgment to the rebellion forces?" Supporters at the scene responded loudly, "Yes."

Meanwhile, at the rally in Suwon, Lee announced his pledges on foreign affairs and national security. He stressed, "Through cooperation with our allies and pivotal collaboration with the international community, I will make substantial progress toward peace on the Korean Peninsula and the resolution of the North Korean nuclear issue. With forward-looking and pragmatic diplomacy and advanced national defense, I will build an unwavering diplomatic and security powerhouse together with the people."

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