By Kim Young Shin

The Moon Jae-in administration has commemorated the 58th anniversary of the April 19 Revolution.

President Moon Jae-in visited the April 19 National Cemetery in Seoul on April 19 to pay his respects to the people who suffered and died during the 1960 democracy movement. He was accompanied by Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs Pi Woo-jin and his team of presidential advisors, including Presidential Chief of Staff Im Jong-seok and Presidential chief policy adviser Jang Ha-sung.

President Moon offered flowers and incense, paid silent tribute to the fallen, and consoled some of the bereaved family members. In the visitors’ book, he wrote, “With the spirit of the April 18 Revolution, we will turn Korea into a fair and righteous country.”

A commemoration ceremony for the April 19 Revolution took place at the cemetery later that day. Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon attended the ceremony, and said, “The April 19 Revolution is a great milestone in Korean democracy and is also the inextinguishable torch that lights up the grand future of Korea.”

“The revolution was the first event in this country when the people brought down absolute authority, and it nurtured the seed of democracy in Korea, which was then barely a newly-independent nation,” said the prime minister.

“The April 19 Revolution was the first successful people’s revolution in Asia,” Lee added. “Some call it a ‘half success’ or an 'incomplete revolution.' However, the spirit did not die, but came back whenever Korea’s democracy was at stake. It was set ablaze once again during the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement of 1980, during the June Democracy Movement of 1987 and during the Candlelight Revolution of 2016.”

“The Moon administration will steadily and faithfully alleviate the deepening gap among sexes, income groups, generations and regions, and bring justice and fairness across every field,” said the prime minister.



ysk1111@korea.kr