Government holds celebration of pro-democracy movement amid boycott

South Korea held an official ceremony Sunday for the 34th anniversary of a democracy movement that took place in this southwestern city, amid a boycott of the celebrations by opposition party leaders and bereaved families of democracy activists.

On May 18, 1980, more than 200,000 Gwangju citizens rose up against then military junta leader Chun Doo-hwan, who took power after the assassination of then President Park Chung-hee, the father of incumbent President Park Geun-hye, the previous year.

The nine-day revolt was ruthlessly suppressed by tank-led paratroopers, causing the deaths of 154 people and leaving thousands of others wounded. The day is commemorated by a state ceremony as the civil uprising is widely regarded as a milestone in South Korea's turbulent evolution from dictatorship to democracy.

"The democracy movement that took place 34 years ago here set a new milestone in development of South Korea's democracy," Prime Minister Chung Hong-won said during the official ceremony held at the May 18 National Cemetery in Gwangju. "When the nation's democracy was in crisis, flags held by Gwangju citizens opened the new path of democracy."

While bereaved families and liberal party leaders have annually participated in the official gathering, they boycotted this year's event as the Ministry of Patriots' and Veterans' Affairs rejected their demand to sing "March for Thee" in unison.

The collective singing of the song was established as the norm when the annual commemoration of the civil uprising was upgraded to a state-organized event in 2003 under the liberal administration of President Roh Moo-hyun. This ceased to be the practice in 2009 under the succeeding administration of Lee Myung-bak.

The song was composed in memory of the protesters and the brutal suppression they endured, and its lyrics are viewed by many conservatives as provocative. The song is sung at almost all protests organized by progressive groups and labor unions.

In Seoul, a civic group held a separate, low-key ceremony to mark the anniversary at a downtown square, as the country was still reeling from last month's ferry sinking that has left more than 300 people dead or missing.

On hand at the ceremony were Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, Chung Mong-joon, a seven-term lawmaker and the ruling party's candidate for the Seoul mayorship, and other dignitaries.

North Korea, meanwhile, urged South Koreans to stage an anti-government protest, calling the May 18 movement "a heroic struggle against the U.S. colonization of the South and Seoul's fascist dictatorship."

"Armed with the indomitable spirit of Gwangju pro-democracy fighters, the South Korean people should unite firmly and launch a strong protest against the Park Geun-hye government," said the North's state-run newspaper Rodong Sinmun in a commentary. (Yonhap)