National Assembly Speaker Cho Jeong-sik attended a public forum Monday at the National Assembly Library titled "Historical Trial of the 1980 Press Purge," honoring the sacrifices and contributions of journalists dismissed for resisting press suppression and calling on the Assembly to play a greater role in establishing the truth and restoring their honor.
"In 1980, the new military regime forcibly dismissed reporters, editorial writers, producers and announcers who resisted censorship, and dismantled the press by merging and consolidating newspapers and broadcasters," Cho said. "When the press collapsed, the truth collapsed — and the massacre in Gwangju was recast as a 'riot.'"
Cho said the dismissed journalists "never broke their spirit — even amid the pain of dismissal, they continued to document and bear witness to the truth." He added that they "once again stood on the side of democracy" during the emergency martial law declaration of Dec. 3, 2024, and said that "the press freedom and democracy we enjoy today stand on the sacrifices and contributions of those dismissed journalists."
Cho said that despite repeated efforts over the past four decades, "the path to restoring the honor of the dismissed journalists has not been opened," adding that bills aimed at restoring their honor and providing compensation had been introduced in the National Assembly but had yet to pass.
He added that on Thursday, "a trial was held for the first time to hold the state accountable for the press suppression of 1980," and pledged that "the National Assembly will also help establish the truth and restore the honor of the dismissed journalists."
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