Gov't may lift ban on protest song

By Yi Whan-woo

The Park Geun-hye administration is expected to allow all participants of a government-led memorial service for the May 18 Democratic Uprising in Gwangju to sing the controversial protest song, “Nimeul Wihan Haengjingok (March for My Love)” this year.

If realized, it will be the first time since 2009 that the government will allow the song to be sung by attendees at the memorial event despite lingering ideological disputes over it.

Sources said the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs will approve the mass-singing of the song at a ceremony marking the 36th anniversary of the pro-democracy movement, Wednesday, in line with a demand from opposition leaders.

The ministry will announce its decision today.

Composed by then-student Kim Jong-ryul and written by novelist Hwang Sok-yong in the early 1980s, the song has been used to commemorate the young activists who were killed in Gwangju under the rule of military dictator Chun Doo-hwan on May 18, 1980.

But some right-wing activists have claimed the tune was used as background music for the 1991 North Korean film “Symphonic Poem for the Beloved” and the word “beloved” or “my love” refers to North Korea’s late founding leader Kim Il-sung.

Under the administrations of Park and her conservative predecessor Lee Myung-bak, the ministry has insisted that a mass sing-along of the song could undermine “national unity.”

The Park and Lee governments also have downsized the memorial service.

They omitted a program under which the all participants, including high-ranking officials, sing the song. They instead invited a choir to sing the song exclusively.

The bereaved families of the 1980 massacre have held a separate memorial service every May 18 in protest. May 18 was first designated as an official memorial day in 1997.

In a meeting between the President and key party leaders, Friday, two floor leaders — Rep. Woo Sang-ho of the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea (MPK) and Rep. Park Jie-won of the minority opposition People’s Party — requested the President to recognize the tune as the official song of the May 18 Democratic Uprising.

Avoiding a direct answer, the President said she will order the veterans affairs ministry to come up with a “good resolution that will not disrupt national unity.”

“There are certainly ways to allow the mass-singing regardless of designation of the song as the official theme or not,” a ruling Saenuri Party official said on condition of anonymity, Sunday. “We believe the Park administration will come up with a conclusion for legislative cooperation and governance.”

The President has been geared toward cooperating with the opposition bloc as the Saenuri Party will be relegated to the second-largest party in the upcoming 20th National Assembly, which will begin its four-year term on May 30.

Park’s possible move in support of “March for My Love” is expected to help designating the song as an official commemorative theme.

It is speculated both MPK and the People’s Party have pushed for such designation to draw support from Gwangju and the North and South Jeolla provinces.

The MPK seeks to retrieve its support there after it conceded all eight districts in Gwangju to the People’s Party in the April 13 general election.

Founded in February, the People’s Party seeks to solidify the region as its political powerbase.