Lee Gets Choked Up While Reading Commemorative Address: "Enshrine Spirit of Busan-Masan and May 18 in Constitution... National Assembly Must Act, Not Just Talk"

47th Anniversary Commemorative Address for the Busan-Masan Democratic Uprising

Urges National Assembly to Discuss Constitutional Amendments and Gather Public Opinion

"Ruling and Opposition Parties Both Pledged to Include It in the Constitution's Preamble... Now Is the Time to Act"

"The Cries of Busan and Masan Carried on Through May 18 and the June Democracy Movement to the Dec. 3 Light Revolution"

President Lee Jae-myung on Oct. 16 urged the National Assembly to promptly begin discussions on constitutional amendments to include the spirit of the Busan-Masan Democratic Uprising and the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement in the Constitution's preamble.

President Lee Jaemyung paused to collect himself while delivering commemorative remarks at a ceremony marking the 47th anniversary of the Buma Democratic Uprising at Busan City Hall on the 16th. Yonhap News.

Attending a ceremony in Busan that day marking the 47th anniversary of the Busan-Masan Democratic Uprising, Lee said, "Including the Busan-Masan Democratic Uprising and the Gwangju Democratization Movement in the Constitution's preamble is the minimum measure needed to ensure that we do not forget the blood-soaked history of our people in defending democracy and popular sovereignty in the Republic of Korea." He added, "Wasn't this something both the ruling and opposition parties had repeatedly agreed on whenever the occasion arose? Now is the time to put those words into action." Lee particularly said, "I once again urge the National Assembly to promptly begin gathering public opinion and holding reasonable discussions on constitutional amendments."

Lee described the Busan-Masan Democratic Uprising as a decisive turning point in the development of democracy in the Republic of Korea. "The cries that began here in Busan and Masan 47 years ago pierced the darkness of a vast dictatorship and became an unquenchable flame that brightly illuminated the democratic republic of Korea," he said.

Lee continued, "The Busan-Masan Democratic Uprising did more than simply bring one dictatorship to an end. By upholding the firm principle that power cannot lord over the people and that the state must exist for the people, it became a solid cornerstone of the development of democracy in the Republic of Korea." He also said, "The cries and spirit of Busan and Masan carried on to Gwangju in May 1980, then to the June Democracy Movement in 1987, and later to the Candlelight Revolution and the Dec. 3 Light Revolution. The times and the streets may have looked different, but the fervent desire for popular sovereignty was one and the same."

He also looked back on how citizens joined the protests that began at Pusan National University in 1979 to abolish the Yushin system and overthrow the dictatorship. He said that ordinary citizens who sheltered students and gave food to protesters, along with the solidarity of office workers and laborers who took to the streets, created cracks in the Yushin dictatorship.

He also stressed the need to restore the honor of victims of state violence and for the state to take responsibility. Lee promised, "The People Sovereignty Government will never turn away from the wounds and pain that state power inflicted on the people, the sovereign, in the past. We will do everything we can to restore the honor of those who suffered unjustly." He added, "That is the minimum responsibility the state must fulfill today."

President Lee Jae-myung delivers commemorative remarks at a ceremony marking the 47th anniversary of the Busan-Masan Democratic Uprising at Busan City Hall on Oct. 16, 2026. Yonhap News Agency

He also described the kind of democratic republic that should be handed down to future generations. Lee said, "The Republic of Korea our next generations will live in must be a country where the people never again have to give up their lives or make sacrifices for democracy. It must be a true democratic republic where people need no exceptional courage to exercise their rightful rights as sovereigns, and where the people do not fear those in power, but those in power always fear the people."

Toward the end of his commemorative address, his voice appeared to tremble with emotion. As he paid tribute to those who sacrificed their lives for democracy and reflected on the value of popular sovereignty, Lee appeared moved, but composed himself and continued reading the address to the end. "I will do everything in my power to ensure that the democracy we are building together today becomes a historic light illuminating the future of the Republic of Korea," he said. "Once again reflecting deeply on the noble intent of all those who gave their lives for democracy in this land, I extend my deepest respect and gratitude to the honorees of the Busan-Masan Democratic Uprising and their bereaved families."

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