Kwon Oh-eul attends joint memorial at Democracy Movement Memorial Park

Bill to honor pro-democracy figures nears National Assembly floor vote

Minister of Patriots and Veterans Kwon Oh-eul delivers a memorial address at the 2026 Joint Memorial Ceremony at Democracy Movement Memorial Park in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, on Saturday morning. [Ministry of Patriots and Veterans]
Minister of Patriots and Veterans Kwon Oh-eul delivers a memorial address at the 2026 Joint Memorial Ceremony at Democracy Movement Memorial Park in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, on Saturday morning. [Ministry of Patriots and Veterans]

Minister of Patriots and Veterans Kwon Oh-eul attended the 2026 Joint Memorial Ceremony at Democracy Square in Democracy Movement Memorial Park in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, on Saturday to pay tribute to fallen democracy activists.

With a floor vote on the Democracy Meritorious Persons Act imminent, Kwon again urged lawmakers to pass the bill without delay.

Held for the fifth consecutive year, the ceremony honors the 64 democracy activists interred at the park. Marking the park's 10th anniversary, the event drew about 200 attendees, including bereaved families, representatives of pro-democracy and memorial organizations, and political figures. The occasion carried added significance as it marked the first official engagement for Moon Guk-ju, who took office as chairman of the Korea Democracy Foundation on Tuesday, to meet bereaved families and key figures in the pro-democracy community.

Kwon joined Moon and others in laying flowers, offering incense and paying their respects before delivering a memorial address. He then toured the park's democracy cemetery with bereaved families to offer comfort.

Following the ceremony, Kwon visited Moran Park in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province — where democracy movement figures including Jeon Tae-il and Park Jong-cheol are interred — to lay flowers and pay his respects.

"The democracy we take for granted today exists because of activists who stood against injustice even in the face of fear, and who chose a better tomorrow for our society over their own safety," Kwon said. "I hope the Democracy Meritorious Persons Act passes swiftly so that their noble sacrifice and contributions can be properly honored."

The Democracy Meritorious Persons Act would extend to those killed, disappeared or injured in pro-democracy movements — excluding the April 19 Revolution and the May 18 Gwangju Uprising — and their families benefits comparable to those given to national merit recipients, including medical and care support.

The bill passed in May 2024 when opposition parties including the Democratic Party of Korea pushed it through the final plenary session of the 21st National Assembly, but then-President Yoon Suk Yeol vetoed it and the bill was scrapped. Reintroduced in the 22nd National Assembly, it cleared the Legislation and Judiciary Committee on March 30 and now includes a new provision barring anyone sentenced to imprisonment or heavier punishment for violations of the National Security Act from being registered as a meritorious person.


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