Call for Expulsion of Rep. Lee Jin-sook Over 'May 18 Seminar' Draws Criticism Within Party

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The Democratic Party has submitted a resolution to the National Assembly urging the expulsion of People Power Party Representative Lee Jin-sook, who hosted a seminar distorting the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement. Criticism also continued within the People Power Party, with members pointing out that the event sparked unnecessary controversy.

Here is the report by reporter Kim Bo-mi.

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At a seminar co-hosted by People Power Party Representative Lee Jin-sook and others at the National Library of Korea the day before yesterday (August 13), one presenter referred to the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement as a "riot," while statements and presentation papers denying the "responsibility of Chun Doo-hwan" also poured out.

A wave of criticism erupted, pointing out that claims distorting and disparaging May 18 ran rampant, and physical clashes even broke out among the audience at the seminar.

The Democratic Party defined the seminar as a "historical coup" and submitted a resolution to the National Assembly yesterday urging the expulsion of Representative Lee, one of the co-hosts.

It pressured the People Power Party not to dismiss the incident as an individual deviation, but to take responsible measures.

[Han Byung-doo / Democratic Party Floor Leader : Mocking the civic uprising that defended democracy with blood and tears against state violence under the guise of academic research and reassessment damages historical truth....]

The People Power Party stated that its "position to inherit the spirit of democratization throughout modern history is firm," adding that measures such as referral for disciplinary action require internal discussion.

Regarding criticisms over whether the party knew about the event in advance and left it unchecked, the party offered the explanation that "there was no way to block an individual lawmaker's seminar."

[Choi Eun-seok / Chief Deputy Spokesperson of the People Power Party : The fact that the seminar was pushed through was an inappropriate act, and we hope it will not happen again....]

Representative Lee Jin-sook herself requested a press conference yesterday and strongly defended her position, claiming it was "suppression of freedom of speech."

[Lee Jin-sook / People Power Party Representative : When a gathering welcoming Kim Jong-un's visit to Seoul was held in Gwanghwamun in the middle of Seoul, did it receive as much criticism as yesterday's May 18 academic seminar? (Lawmaker, Chun Doo-hwan's conviction for murder for the purpose of insurrection has been finalized; what kind of discussion do you think is still necessary?) ......]

Among People Power Party lawmakers, discontent regarding Representative Lee was widespread, with remarks such as, "Denying the spirit of May 18 is an act that undermines the party's values and should be strongly rebuked," "This is a historically and legally settled matter, yet it stirred up useless controversy," and "At a time when the ruling camp is continuing missteps regarding real estate and supplementary investigation powers, this only dispersed our combativeness against the ruling party."

(Photo: Yonhap News)
(Video reporting: Lee Seung-hwan, Shin Dong-hwan | Video editing: Lee Seung-hee | Design: Han Heung-soo)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.