May 18 groups push back after forum hosted by PPP lawmaker refers to uprising as 'civil disturbance'

Groups representing victims and survivors of the May 18 Democracy Movement pushed back Thursday after a forum hosted by People Power Party lawmaker Lee Jin-suk featured repeated distortions and disparagement of the 1980 uprising, including a description of it as a "civil disturbance."

According to Yonhap, Lee Young-hoon, head of the civic group Saeyeoksa Gungmin Undong (New History Citizens Movement), referred to the May 18 Democracy Movement as a "civil disturbance" at the forum. A journalist from the online outlet PenN Mike, who presented at the event, also made remarks suggesting that Chun Doo-hwan — the former president and a central figure in the new military junta — was not a "murderer."

Park Gang-bae, standing director of the May 18 Memorial Foundation, said being a National Assembly member does not give anyone the right to host a forum that distorts the historical facts of the May 18 uprising. He urged Lee to stop denying or disparaging May 18.

Park added that the foundation is collecting statements made at the forum — including the "civil disturbance" remark — as evidence, and will take legal action if violations of the May 18 Special Act are confirmed.

Yang Jae-hyeok, chairman of the May 18 Bereaved Families Association, said the forum only exposed the ignorance of participants who remain uninformed about an uprising confirmed multiple times through investigations by the truth commission. He said Lee should reflect on whether her view of history is sound and whether she has the qualities befitting a National Assembly member.

Yang went on to say that repeated distortions and disparagement leave wounds in the hearts of bereaved families that can never be healed, and urged that May 18 no longer be used as a political tool or a subject of controversy.

Lee co-hosted the forum, titled "A New Look at the May 18 Democracy Movement," with the civic group Saeyeoksa Gungmin Undong at the National Assembly Library in Seoul on Thursday.