'The cry of 1987 has not ended,' Kim says, pledging to bring democracy from the streets into everyday life

Prime Minister Kim Min-seok delivers a commemorative address at the 39th anniversary ceremony of the June 10 Democracy Movement, held at the Democracy Movement Memorial Hall in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, on Wednesday. [Yonhap]
Prime Minister Kim Min-seok delivers a commemorative address at the 39th anniversary ceremony of the June 10 Democracy Movement, held at the Democracy Movement Memorial Hall in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, on Wednesday. [Yonhap]

Prime Minister Kim Min-seok said Wednesday that he would work to ensure democracy moves from the public square into everyday life, so that every citizen can enjoy a better quality of life and help build a brighter future for South Korea.

Kim made the remarks in a commemorative address at the 39th anniversary ceremony of the June 10 Democracy Movement, held that morning at the Democracy Movement Memorial Hall in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. He said President Lee Jae Myung had stressed at a press conference that the Korean people, united as one, have the strength to overcome any crisis threatening their lives and the nation's future.

"On June 10, 1987, our people rose up in defiance against a military dictatorship's ambition to cling to power indefinitely," Kim said. "It was a great milestone in South Korean democracy and a hard-won victory for the people."

He also reflected on the events of late 2024. "The illegal martial law that suddenly descended on this peaceful land on Dec. 3, 2024 — the first in 45 years — left the people deeply shocked and wounded," he said. "Yet our great people stood up bodily against the martial law troops, held the square through bitter cold, and completed a revolution of light."

Kim went on to say that the people's desire to defend democracy had carried through the April 19 Revolution, the Busan-Masan Democracy Movement, the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement, the June 10 Democracy Movement, and the candlelight revolution, each time pulling the country back from the brink.

"The cry of that day 39 years ago has not ended," Kim said. "Democracy is the right of every citizen and the most precious asset of South Korea — one we must all protect together."

He pledged that the government would take the lead in building a more mature society, keeping faith with the noble spirit and values of solidarity embodied by the June 10 Democracy Movement.

Kim also noted that the memorial hall where the ceremony was held stands on the site of the former Namyeongdong Anti-Communist Agency, where democracy activist Park Jong-cheol was tortured and killed. "This space, which once suppressed democracy, has been reborn as the Democracy Movement Memorial Hall, bearing witness to democracy's great journey," he said.

He promised that the government would restore the former agency building to its original state as a reminder of the painful history of state violence, and develop it into a hub for the research, education and promotion of democracy.


oskymoon@heraldcorp.com