PPP lawmaker announces controversial forum on May 18 pro-democracy uprising

People Power Party lawmaker Lee Jin-suk (Daegu Dalseong-gun) has announced a controversial academic forum on the May 18, 1980, pro-democracy uprising in Gwangju.

Lee said Tuesday she will co-host a public forum titled "Reexamining the May 18 Democratic Movement" with the New History Citizens Movement at the National Assembly Library's main auditorium at 2 p.m. Thursday.

The forum aims to reexamine the May 18 Democratic Movement from a liberal-democratic perspective and explore historical interpretations that differ from the established view.

Presentations and discussions will draw on a range of materials and perspectives covering the outbreak and development of the uprising, the historical character of the "Gwangju spirit" that emerged in its aftermath, and its influence on South Korean politics following democratization in 1987.

Lee Young-hoon, co-chair of the New History Citizens Movement and a featured speaker, will analyze the historical worldview embedded in the Gwangju spirit and examine its ideological influence on South Korean politics after 1987.

Lee, a former principal of the Lee Seungman School, is widely regarded as a leading ideologue of the conservative New Right movement.

Ju Dong-sik, a former People Power Party district committee chair for Gwangju's Seo-gu, will offer a critical analysis of the May 18 uprising's impact on South Korean politics after 1987.

Ju is also expected to address claims — raised in some quarters — that North Korean troops were involved in the uprising, arguing that unsubstantiated assertions on the matter have undermined the credibility of broader discussions about the May 18 movement.

Lee said in a press release that senior journalist Kim Yong-sam will examine the outbreak and course of the May 18 Democratic Movement from a perspective that differs from the prevailing account, drawing on prosecutors' investigation records, testimony from those involved, declassified US documents, and the memoirs of the then-USFK commander and US ambassador to South Korea.

Lee said "the historical significance and sacrifice of May 18 must be respected," but added that "it is a separate matter to say that all interpretations and institutions surrounding May 18 are beyond question."

She added that "the special law and the institutions and assessments established afterward must also be examined in accordance with facts and principles."

The forum is expected to generate significant controversy in political circles and society at large. Although a constitutional revision — the first attempt in 39 years — ultimately fell through in the first half of this year, 187 lawmakers from six parties excluding the People Power Party had jointly submitted a proposed amendment that would have enshrined the spirit of the May 18 Democratic Movement, along with the Buma Democratic Uprising, in the constitution.

shindw@heraldcorp.com