It turns out that a periodical published by the Democratization Movement Memorial Society in June of last year contained an article evaluating the 1989 visit to North Korea by former lawmaker Lim Soo-kyung, who was punished for violating the National Security Act, as a “historic feat.” In addition, it was pointed out that most of the judges for the ‘2022 Korean Democracy Awards’, which was controversial in November last year by selecting a group campaigning for the enactment of the ‘Yellow Envelope Law’ and a group opposing the abolition of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family as winners, were opposition figures.
According to the office of People Power Party Rep. Jeong Woo-taek on the 11th, the periodical ‘Memories and Prospects’ published by the Memorial Association in June of last year included an article titled ‘From international solidarity to local community movements’ written by Seo Hyuk-kyo, president of the National Association of Korean-Americans. In this article, Chairman Seo said of former lawmaker Lim’s visit to North Korea, “She (Lim Soo-kyung) boldly and courageously risked her life without receiving any guarantee of safety from the South and crossed the border of the demilitarized zone for the first time as an ordinary citizen since the Korean War. He evaluated it as a “historic feat,” saying, “We have crossed over and set foot in Korea.” An official from Rep. Jeong Woo-taek’s office said, “Former Rep. Lim promoted a government-banned visit to North Korea without permission, and there is no room for controversy as the ruling and punishment clearly violated the National Security Act.”
Chairman Seo, who contributed this article, participated in the ‘Rally calling for the resignation of the traitorous and fake conservative Yoon Seok-yeol regime’ in front of the White House in Washington, D.C. , where the Korea-US summit was held in April. He also said in a media interview when Justice Minister Cho Kuk resigned in 2019, “The key is that prosecution reform must be carried out.”
The chairman of the business association was Monk Ji-seon, who served as a standing co-representative of the National Movement for a Democratic Constitution during the June 10 Uprising before the appointment of Standing Advisor Lee Jae-oh 메이저사이트of the People Power Party for five years starting in 2017.
Previously, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety pointed out in a special audit of the commemorative event that “the winners were determined by recognizing the socially controversial ‘Yellow Envelope Law’ enactment movement and the movement to prevent the abolition of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family as democratic achievements.” According to Rep. Jeong’s office, in the case of the commemorative ‘2022 Korean Democracy Awards’, the majority of the five members of the screening committee and steering committee were identified as opposition party figures. The Korea Democracy Awards is structured in such a way that the steering committee selects award candidates into around 5 teams, and the judges make the final review of the selected candidates. It operates in two ways to ensure fairness.
However, at the time of the awards, the steering committee was comprised of Ahn Jin-geol, director of the People’s Livelihood Economy Research Institute, who is campaigning for the resignation of President Yoon Seok-yeol, and Lee Seung-hoon, secretary general of the Civil Society Group Solidarity, who spoke at the ‘press conference denouncing the Yoon Seok-yeol administration’s movement for historical justice against Japan and the oppression of civic groups.’ The review committee was chaired by Han Wan-sang, former Prime Minister of Education and a former standing advisor to ‘Policy Space and National Growth’, a think tank during President Moon Jae-in’s candidacy. The members included Jeong Hae-gu, chairman of the Korea Research Council for Economics, Humanities and Social Sciences, who was appointed by the Moon Jae-in administration, and Jeong Kang-ja, former co-chair of the People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy. An official from Rep. Jeong’s office said, “Isn’t this a step-by-step preparation, starting with judges and steering committee members, at the commemorative event to turn civic groups into tools for the opposition’s political movement?”
Rep. Jeong Woo-taek of the People Power Party said, “There are many politically biased actions throughout the memorial, so a comprehensive reform is needed.” Chairman Lee Jae-oh said in a phone call, “An audit report has been received from the Ministry of Public Administration and Security requesting the dismissal of two executives and disciplinary action against six people, and we are in the process of proceeding accordingly.”