Lee Jae Myung: 'No one can rule above the Constitution'

President Lee Jae Myung hosted a citizen ceremony Friday at Cheong Wa Dae's banquet hall to mark the launch of the presidential "Committee of Light," paying tribute to the citizens who defended democracy during last year's emergency martial law crisis. The committee was established in March to carry on the civic spirit that protected the constitutional order against the Dec. 3 illegal emergency martial law declaration and to pursue related commemorative projects.

In his remarks, Lee recalled the many citizens who endured the winter cold on asphalt streets, sharing a single foil blanket, and who rushed to Namtaeryeong to stand in solidarity with farmers. "You, the great people of this nation, chose solidarity over division, peace over violence, and action over silence," he said.

He added that the events had "clearly proven that South Korea's democracy may be shaken but will never fall."

Lee also made a solemn declaration to uphold democratic values and strict adherence to the Constitution in governing the country. "Never again should democracy and popular sovereignty be threatened, and no one should seek to rule above the Constitution," he said. "The people's sovereignty government will uphold the simplest yet most fundamental principle — that the people are the masters of this nation."

As a concrete institutional step toward that end, Lee reaffirmed his plan to designate Dec. 3 as a national commemorative day called "People's Sovereignty Day."

He also said the government would actively pursue the creation of a digital archive "so that K-democracy can spread widely as a model for democracy around the world." Lee bowed his head and said he wished to express "once again, my deepest respect and gratitude to the people of this nation, as a fellow citizen."

After the official ceremony, Lee joined attendees to watch "Ran 12·3," a documentary about the Dec. 3 emergency martial law directed by Lee Myung-se. Before the screening, the director took the stage and said he was "very glad to be here with the president and first lady — the lead actors of this film — and with the citizens, who are equally the leads." He expressed hope that watching the film together on Friday would be "a meaningful moment of solidarity."

The ceremony drew about 100 people, including committee chair Park Mi-kyung, Minister of Interior and Safety Yun Ho-jung, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Koo Yun-cheol, and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT Bae Kyung-hoon, along with citizens and civic group representatives who took to the streets in resistance during the martial law crisis.