Respected pro-democracy activist dies at 78

Lee Seok-young, a democratization activist and honorary professor at Jeonbuk National University / Courtesy of Jeonbuk Democracy Movement Memorial Association

Lee Seok-young, a pro-democracy activist and honorary professor at Jeonbuk National University, passed away on Monday at the age of 89.

Despite constant surveillance and threats from martial law forces due to his role in Korea's pro-democracy movement during the 1980s, Lee lived a life that itself became a symbol of resistance.

Born in 1936 in Yeongdong, North Chungcheong Province, Lee began his career as a teacher at Jeonju Gijeon Girls’ High School before becoming a biology professor at the university.

Throughout the military dictatorship era of Chun Doo-hwan, he was deeply involved in the pro-democracy movement, notably serving as an adviser for the Korea Christian Student Federation (KSCF).

In July 1980, amid the military regime’s brutal crackdown, Lee was detained and tortured by martial law forces at the Jeonju Security Unit. He was forcibly removed from his professorship on charges of inciting unrest. Despite the ordeal, Lee continued his activism unwaveringly during his years away from the university.

After being reinstated as a professor in September 1984, he remained committed to supporting students who were imprisoned or expelled for their activism in the name of democratization of the country.

Even after his retirement in 2002, Lee remained an active figure in civic and human rights circles. He served as a member of the Presidential Truth Commission on Deaths in the Military, guardian of the Itaewon crowd crush victims’ memorial altar and an adviser to the North Jeolla Province branch of the movement calling for President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment.

A funeral was held for Lee, and he was laid to rest at the May 18th National Cemetery in Gwangju.