Buma Democratic Uprising and May 18 Victims Urge Inclusion of "May 18 Spirit" in Constitution's Preamble

Special Forces and Marine Corps Veterans:
"There Must Never Be a Day When the Military Turns Its Weapons on the People"

Victims of the Buma Democratic Uprising, the May 18 Democratic Uprising, and former Republic of Korea Special Forces and Marine Corps veterans called on political parties from both sides to include the spirit of the May 18 Democratic Uprising in the preamble of the Constitution.

On the 30th of last month, in front of the main stairs of the National Assembly building, victims of the Buma Democratic Uprising, victims of the Gwangju May 18 Democratic Uprising, victims of forced conscription during the Fifth Republic, and veterans of the Republic of Korea Special Forces and Marine Corps who were mobilized to martial law forces and units against their will at the time, urged the inclusion of the May 18 spirit in the preamble of the Constitution at the "Resolution Rally for Including the Spirit of the Buma Uprising and the May 18 Democratic Movement in the Constitutional Preamble." Photo provided by the reader.

Min Byungdeok, National Assembly member of the Democratic Party of Korea (Anyang-si Dongan-gu Gap), said on May 1 that at the 'Resolution Rally for the Inclusion of the Spirit of the Buma Uprising and May 18 Democratic Uprising in the Constitution Preamble' held in front of the main stairs of the National Assembly building on April 30, "I will do my part in the National Assembly so that the cry of Buma and the sacrifice of May can be proudly recorded on the first page of the Constitution of the Republic of Korea."

The rally was attended by victims of the Buma Democratic Uprising, victims of the Gwangju May 18 Democratic Uprising, victims of forced conscription during the Fifth Republic, and former Republic of Korea Special Forces and Marine Corps veterans who were mobilized to martial law troops and related units against their will. The participants urged politicians from both ruling and opposition parties to include the spirit of the Buma Uprising and the May 18 Democratic Uprising in the preamble of the Constitution.

Assemblyman Min stated, "The outcry of Buma in 1979 and the sacrifice of Gwangju in May 1980 are the very roots of democracy in the Republic of Korea and constitutional values themselves." He added, "The reason why victims and former martial law troops are standing together is to engrave the spirit of the Buma Uprising and the May 18 Democratic Uprising at the very beginning of the Constitution, so that the history of the state trampling on its own people will never be repeated."

Marine Corps veteran Park Jisoo, who delivered a statement on behalf of the Marine Corps Patriots, said, "There must never again be an instance where the military turns its guns and swords against the people." Former Special Forces Major Lim Seongrok also urged, "Both ruling and opposition parties have promised to include the spirit of the democratization movement in the Constitution's preamble during every election. Now is the time to keep that promise."

Through their resolution, participants called for: ▲ the inclusion of the spirit of the 1979 Buma Democratic Uprising and the 1980 Gwangju May 18 Democratic Uprising in the Constitution's preamble; and ▲ the establishment of institutional measures to address the dissemination of false information, distortion, and defamation concerning the May 18 Democratic Uprising and its victims.

Meanwhile, Assemblyman Min plans to deliver the resolution reflecting the participants' wishes to National Assembly Speaker Woo Wonshik and officially request the inclusion of the spirit of the Buma Uprising and the May 18 Democratic Uprising in the preamble of the Constitution.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.