Latest news with #GwangjuDemocraticUprising
Korea Herald
2 days ago
- Business
- Korea Herald
'Make KorUS Great Again': PM urges deeper Seoul-Washington ties
"Make KorUS Great Again," declared South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok on Tuesday, as he called for a renewed Korea-US alliance grounded in shared democratic values and future industries in the face of shifting global economic and security dynamics. Speaking at a policy seminar hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea, Kim emphasized the Lee Jae Myung administration's commitment to a deeper strategic alignment with the US. 'I understand the efforts of the US to pursue a stronger nation, a stronger economy and a better treatment of American workers, regardless of whether it's under President Trump's term or not,' Kim said in his keynote speech, titled "Make KorUS Great Again." 'But I can say with conviction that the US will become even stronger when it works with Korea, when it works with Korea efficiently and maintains a proper partnership with Korea that is in line with the realities of the 2020s.' Reflecting on his past as a student activist during the 1980 Gwangju Democratic Uprising and his education in the US, Kim said the two countries are bound by a shared democratic foundation, constitutional values, people-to-people exchanges and future technologies. 'What we have in common is the shared experience of people who understand the importance of a constitution. A country that values its constitution is one that shares the value of democracy,' he said. Kim also stressed long-standing cultural and human exchanges between the two countries, saying they are "deeply rooted to the level of assimilation.' Going forward, Kim laid out key industries for bilateral cooperation under the government's ABCDE strategy ― artificial intelligence, biotechnology, cultural content, defense and energy ― which Kim said he coined during the presidential campaign. 'Across all of these sectors, we are confident that we can develop a complementary relationship with the US together as we navigate the changing landscape of global economics and security.' Kim also raised the hope that US President Donald Trump could play a role in bringing North Korea back to the negotiating table and for peace on the Korean Peninsula, beyond resolving ongoing tariff issues. On tariffs, however, Kim remained optimistic, saying that "there is still a lot of time left" to find a resolution. 'There is a lot to do and a lot of issues," he said. "All will be sorted out when we look at the essence and the future of the issue." At the seminar, Joseph Yun, charge d'affaires at the US Embassy in Seoul, reiterated Washington's commitment to an 'ironclad alliance' with Seoul, grounded in defense, shared value and deep economic ties. Still, Yun pointed to the US' $1.2 trillion trade deficit last year and a projected $1.8 trillion fiscal deficit as reasons it seeks to see its allies take on greater responsibilities. 'These are enormous amounts and they must be reduced if we are to have balanced economic relations,' Yun said on the US trade deficits. The US is spending about $1 trillion in defense annually, and the deficit is not sustainable, added Yun. 'So the US is asking our allies to do more. This is a request to all NATO partners in Europe and also to all our allies in Asia, of course that includes South Korea, Japan and Australia.' In his opening remarks, James Kim, chair and CEO of AmCham, also touched on the ongoing tariff negotiations and the ways that the two countries can cooperate. 'As we navigate ongoing tariff negotiations between our two nations, we see tremendous opportunities to deepen bilateral cooperation and advance shared economic goals,' said Kim, noting that member companies in shipbuilding, aerospace, energy and technology are leading the way in strengthening strategic partnership. 'At the same time we recognize the importance of addressing Korea's unique regulations in order to foster a more balanced and a sustainable trade dynamic industry,' he said. "As a result, we launched the AmCham 'Buy America' campaign in partnership with our member companies to enhance visibility and accessibility of US products.'
Korea Herald
7 days ago
- Politics
- Korea Herald
Lee Jae Myung promises to back amendment to Constitution
On 77th Constitution Day, president asks secretaries to review redesignation as public holiday Marking the 77th anniversary of South Korea's Constitution on Thursday, President Lee Jae Myung expressed his commitment to a new amendment to the Constitution, stressing that it must be "citizen-centered." In a Facebook post, Lee said a newly amended Constitution, which would uphold the spirit of the Gwangju Democratic Uprising in May 1980 and encompass the greater fundamental rights of each citizen, the greater local autonomy and the curtailment of power through reforms, "must be a compass to lead the way of South Korea." The liberal president also thanked the people for lawfully overcoming the political crisis that stemmed from former President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law declaration in December. South Korea last amended the Constitution about four decades ago, effective in 1987. It was the ninth amendment in the country since its foundation on Aug. 15, 1948. Later on Thursday, Lee asked his secretaries to consider redesignating Constitution Day as a public holiday in a meeting he presided over at his office in Seoul. Nearly two decades after South Korea removed Constitution Day, which falls on July 17 each year, from the list of public holidays, lawmakers have pushed to designate the day as a full public holiday to shed light on the role of the Constitution in safeguarding democracy. Since Lee's inauguration on June 4, Reps. Kwak Sang-eon of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea and Kang Dae-sik of the main opposition People Power Party have each introduced revision bills aimed at adding Constitution Day to the list of public holidays, following its exclusion in 2008. Kwak and nine other lawmakers of three liberal parties proposed the redesignation on June 13, suggesting it could "boost the domestic economy and guarantee people's right to rest," and at the same time uphold the spirit of the Constitution. Kwak proposed a revision of the Act on Public Holidays to allow South Koreans to be granted the day off. Of the five national celebration days designated in South Korea, Constitution Day is the only one that is not also designated as a public holiday. On July 9, Kang and 10 other People Power Party members proposed a similar bill to revise the Act on Public Holidays, raising a need for Constitution Day to be redesignated. South Korea promulgated its first Constitution on July 17, 1949, and the day was designated as a holiday in 1950. The conservative Lee Myung-bak administration, however, delisted the day as a public holiday in 2008, amid calls to recover national productivity alongside the introduction of a five-day workweek in 2004. According to a recent report by the National Assembly Research Service, there have been 17 bills so far designed to reinstate Constitution Day as a public holiday since 2008. Constitution Day "holds great symbolic significance" in that a need to safeguard constitutional values has been in the limelight, and it therefore deserves to be redesignated as a public holiday, added the report released Monday. It also called for a social consensus on the matter, given that the redesignation could have a significant socioeconomic impact on South Korea.
Korea Herald
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Korea Herald
Gwangju Uprising memorial sees spike in visitors: report
May visitors to May 18th National Cemetery reach highest figure since 2018 A total of 242,503 people in May visited the graves of those who participated in the Gwangju Democratic Uprising in 1980, according to local media reports on Tuesday. The monthly visitor count at the May 18th National Cemetery was the highest since 2018 and marked an on-year increase of over 40,000 from to May 2024, the Korean-language news agency News 1 said, citing the operators of the government facility under the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs. The number of visitors usually peaks in May around the anniversary of the nationwide protest against Chun Doo-hwan's junta, which took power via a military coup in December 1979. The highest figures for any other month in 2025 and 2024 were 12,287 in April this year, and 11,202 in April last year. The number of May visitors had usually exceeded 300,000 prior to 2019 but hovered in the 200,000 range over the past three years, plummeting to 5,822 in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The political turmoil following former President Yoon Suk Yeol's imposition of martial law in December is thought to have renewed public interest in the historic citizens' protest against the military regime. Yoon's martial law decree, which led to his impeachment and removal from office, was the first to be imposed in the country since 1981, under Chun's authority. Chun was not yet president when martial law was extended nationwide on May 18, 1980, but he had effectively been leader of the junta since the coup a year before. Yoon's much-disputed martial law declaration led to comparisons with Chun. The results of the June 3 presidential election showed that 84.8 percent of voters in Gwangju voted for Yoon's political rival and eventual successor, Lee Jae-myung, who also garnered over 80 percent of the vote in both North and South Jeolla Provinces. Lee himself drew a comparison between Yoon and Chun at a commemoration of the Gwangju Uprising's 45th anniversary last month, when he attended as a presidential candidate. He said the spirit of the Gwangju citizens that refused to back down in the face of military oppression in 1980 has been inherited by those who opposed the dispatch of troops to the National Assembly under Yoon's martial law decree. Those who have been recognized by the state as having died while participating in the Gwangju Uprising are entitled to be buried at the May 18th National Cemetery, in accordance with the Act on the Honorable Treatment of Persons of Distinguished Service to the May 18 Democratization Movement. Those who have relinquished their Korean nationality or have been convicted of certain crimes can have their burial rights revoked.
Korea Herald
03-06-2025
- Politics
- Korea Herald
Will Yoon Suk Yeol meet same bitter end as his predecessors?
With ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol's trial set to run until mid-December, he won't face a verdict until almost seven months after new president is elected on June 3. The Criminal Act stipulates that those convicted of leading an insurrection face either death penalty or life imprisonment. Experts The Korea Herald spoke to said he was likely to be found guilty and face a prison sentence. 'Yoon's martial law declaration did not cause significant injuries or deaths like ex-President Chun Doo-hwan's Gwangju massacre in 1980. I expect the court to sentence him to life imprisonment rather than the death penalty,' a former research judge at the Constitutional Court Noh Hee-bum told The Korea Herald. Lee Yun-ju, a law professor at Myongji University, expected a similar fate for Yoon. 'I think Yoon, who is a former prosecutor, knows that he cannot be acquitted in the criminal trial. He continues to politicize the trial, like how he expressed his support for conservative party's presidential candidate Kim Moon-soo. Yoon plans to wait for a potential special pardon provided by the conservative People Power Party after the conservative party (hypothetically) retains power in the June 3 election,' said Lee. Though the ousted president's future remains uncertain until the Supreme Court of Korea to hand down its final verdict, Yoon is expected to become a part of the troubled history of South Korea's former presidents. Here is a list of presidents who once stood at the pinnacle of power and saw their careers end in disgrace. In 1995, former President Chun Doo-hwan and another former President Roh Tae-woo became the first two former presidents to be arrested. Chun, who not only seized power through a 1979 coup, but also masterminded the massacre that quelled the Gwangju Democratic Uprising in 1980, were indicted on charges of insurrection, treason, bribery and corruption in 1996. Roh, who became president by beating a divided field in the democratic election that followed Chun's ouster, was tried for his role in the 1979 military coup as well. Though Seoul District Court sentenced Chun to death and handed down a prison term of 22 years and six months to Roh with its first trial verdict, the Supreme Court of Korea reduced Chun's punishment to life imprisonment and Roh's sentence by five years. The two former presidents were pardoned by former President Kim Young-sam in 1997, after serving two years in prison. Two other former presidents — Park Geun-hye and Lee Myung-bak — have seen cases go all the way to a trial verdict. Park, the first elected president to be removed from office by the Constitutional Court, was indicted on multiple charges, including bribery, abuse of power and coercion in 2017. In its 2018 ruling, the court found Park guilty of 16 out of the 18 charges and sentenced her to 24 years in prison. Park spent four years and nine months behind bars, as she was pardoned by her successor, President Moon Jae-in. Ex-President Lee was charged in April 2018 on 16 criminal counts including embezzlement and bribery. A district court found him guilty of seven counts and sentenced him to 15 years in prison in its first trial verdict in October 2018. However, Lee only spent two years and six months in prison, as he was pardoned in 2022 by former President Yoon. Former President Roh Moo-hyun died by suicide amid an investigation targeting him and his family over bribery charges in 2009.
Korea Herald
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Korea Herald
Lee Jae-myung floats ending single-term limit for presidency
Democratic Party candidate shifts stance on Constitutional reform; avoids questions about seeking reelection Rep. Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party of Korea's presidential candidate, pledged Sunday to amend the Constitution to permit presidents to serve two terms, with the length of a single term cut from the current five years to four. Lee also proposed memorializing the 1980 pro-democracy movement in Gwangju in the Constitution, to "remember the people who gave their lives to fight dictatorship and defend democracy." Lee said the Constitution needed to be rewritten to be a "sturdier bastion of democracy," and that "the spirit of Gwangju must be written into (its) text." Lee, who was in Gwangju on Sunday to mark the anniversary of the May 18 Gwangju Democratic Uprising, made these announcements in a post on his Facebook page, as he had with other policy pledges. In response to a reporter's question asking whether Lee would be permitted to run again under his proposed amendment, Lee avoided a straight answer, saying the Constitution, as it is written now, bars a sitting president from seeking another term. "Implementing a four-year presidential term and allowing a second run would let people give a 'halfway evaluation' on the administration's performance," Lee said. Lee offered former President Yoon Suk Yeol's short-lived martial law imposition as his rationale for changing the presidential term to "increase checks and balances on the office of the president." On top of abolishing the single-term limit, Lee said he would place a cap on how many times a president can exercise his veto powers over bills passed by the National Assembly. In particular, presidents should not be able to veto bills related to corruption suspicions surrounding them and their families, Lee added. To "reform" the country's investigative agencies, Lee said he would take away the prosecution service's authority to request arrest warrants from the court. The Democratic party candidate almost had an arrest warrant out after him when he was the party's leader in 2023, and is currently mired in five ongoing criminal trials that would, in principle, continue through his time in office if elected as president. Lee, whose Democratic Party controls the majority in the National Assembly with 170 out of 300 seats, said he would expand parliamentary powers, and let the National Assembly pick the nominees for prime minister. The next general election for the Assembly is in 2028. Sunday's proposal marks a U-turn from his earlier stance on amending the Constitution. Lee had downplayed the need for one during the Democratic Party primary. "I don't think changing the Constitution is something that we should be discussing now," Lee said at an April 28 televised debate with other primary challengers. Lee's call for making a two-term presidency constitutionally permissible fueled speculations that the Democratic Party candidate may try to secure a second term himself, should he win. "Lee has to make it clear before the people that he would rule out pursuing another term by amending the Constitution if he is elected president," Rep. Na Kyung-won of the People Power Party said in a statement Sunday. "Lee suddenly advocating consecutive presidential terms has autocrats like Russia's Vladimir Putin written all over it. This may be a dangerous sign of his ambitions to rule long term," Na said.
