Former Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo (left) and People Power Party lawmaker Lee Jin-suk. [Yonhap]
Former Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo (left) and People Power Party lawmaker Lee Jin-suk. [Yonhap]

Former Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo lashed out at People Power Party lawmaker Lee Jin-suk on Saturday over her hosting of a National Assembly forum that distorted and denigrated the May 18 pro-democracy uprising, saying that denying the movement amounts to rejecting the spirit of the times.

Writing on Facebook, Hong said Lee — who organized a National Assembly forum on Thursday billed as a "reexamination" of the May 18 Gwangju pro-democracy uprising — was "a lonely warrior, or a Don Quixote who has forgotten the spirit of the times."

"The May 18 uprising became a myth long ago," he said. "To deny and denigrate it is to deny the spirit of the times."

Hong said no attempt to use "a tragic chapter of history as a political stepping stone" should be tolerated. He recalled hearing accounts of the uprising while serving at a military unit in Buan, North Jeolla Province, in June 1980, shortly after the events. "What I heard about May 18 was horrific," he said.

He drew a distinction between exploiting the uprising and criticizing the uprising itself. "Those who use May 18 for their own ends deserve condemnation, but May 18 itself must not be condemned," he said. He added that while he had called for the public disclosure of the list of May 18 merit holders — on the grounds that they are state-recognized patriots — he had never denigrated or criticized the uprising itself.

Lee had hosted the forum, titled "National Assembly Open Forum for the Reexamination of the May 18 Pro-Democracy Movement," on Thursday.

The event featured Lee Young-hoon, a former Seoul National University professor widely regarded as a leading New Right scholar, as the main presenter. Also in attendance were Ji Man-won, who has claimed that the May 18 uprising was "a riot caused by North Korean military intervention," and Heo Hwa-pyeong, who served as chief of staff to then-Army Security Command chief Chun Doo-hwan and was a key figure in the Dec. 12, 1979 coup.

The forum drew protests and angry outbursts as presenters made remarks denying and mocking the May 18 pro-democracy uprising.

After the forum drew criticism and concern from across the political spectrum, Lee held an emergency press conference on Friday and rebuffed the backlash.

Lee argued that, 46 years after the May 18 uprising, forums explaining and reflecting on its significance were "essential" — especially for younger generations who did not experience it firsthand. She warned that banning such discussions would mean "a movement that champions democracy bringing about an anti-democratic outcome by suppressing freedom of thought and freedom of expression, the most important values of the state."


yeonjoo7@heraldcorp.com