[Anchor]

People Power Party Representative Lee Jin-sook held a seminar at the National Assembly regarding the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement. However, remarks far removed from common public sense poured out, including anti-historical claims and derogatory statements about May 18.

The audience erupted into shouting and violence.

Reporter Son Hyeong-an has the details.

[Reporter]

Yesterday afternoon at the National Assembly Library.

This was a seminar on the May 18 Democratization Movement co-hosted by People Power Party Representative Lee Jin-sook and an organization called the New History National Movement.

[Lee Jin-sook / People Power Party Representative: May 18 must not become the property of a specific political faction.]

A co-representative of the organization belittled "March for the Beloved," a song symbolizing the spirit of the May 18 Democratization Movement, calling it a "relic of history retired from service," and even referred to May 18 as a disturbance.

[Lee Young-hoon / Co-representative, New History National Movement: It was a ten-day disturbance that took place in Gwangju. What did they protest against, what did they seek to overthrow...]

Statements denying Chun Doo-hwan's responsibility for May 18 followed one after another.

[Lee Young-hoon / Co-representative, New History National Movement: It was President Chun Doo-hwan's national enrichment and soft landing for democratic politics.]

[Joo Dong-shik / Former Chairperson of the People Power Party's Gwangju Seo-gu Gap Party District Committee: I believe the intentions of the Juche faction were also involved. Whenever Chun Doo-hwan is mentioned, he is unconditionally made out to be a slaughterer, a slaughterer. They made everyone out to be perpetrators and bad guys.]

The seminar reference materials even contained anti-historical claims calling May 18 the Gwangju Incident, stating that "responsibility was entirely shifted to Chun Doo-hwan, who had no relation to the military command structure at the time in 1980," or that "Chun Doo-hwan was denigrated as a person who massacred the righteous people who rose up in Gwangju."

The seminar turned into chaos as audience members shouted at each other, threw punches, and splashed water.

[Seminar Attendee: May 18 is a riot and an insurrection!]

Representative Lee even made remarks that seemed to further incite the commotion in the room.

[Lee Jin-sook / People Power Party Representative: It is the goal of certain forces to have this event suspended due to such commotion and disturbances.]

Regarding the seminar, which was rampant with claims detached from common public sense, the Democratic Party of Korea criticized that the National Assembly was degraded into a stage for disparaging the May 18 Democratization Movement, and urged the People Power Party to expel Representative Lee.

The People Power Party drew a line, stating, "We asked Representative Lee to cancel the event, but she refused," and emphasized that it was an event at the individual level rather than involving party-level involvement.

(Video Reported by Lee Seung-hwan, Shin Dong-hwan | Video Edited by Wee Won-yang | Design by Kim Ye-ji)