'May 1980 rescued December 2024,' says DPK floor leader in impeachment appeal

By KTimes

Rep. Park Chan-dae, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), delivered an impassioned speech during the National Assembly’s plenary session on Saturday, calling on lawmakers to support the impeachment motion against President Yoon Suk Yeol.

Referring to Nobel Prize winner Han Kang’s novel, "Human Acts," Park drew a parallel between the Dec. 3 martial law crisis and the events of the May 1980 Gwangju massacre.

“Lawmakers of the People Power Party,” Park said, “grasp the hem of history’s robe as it passes through this door. Do not let it slip away.”

He invoked Han Kang’s work, saying, “While preparing her novel, the author came across the diary of a young night school teacher who was killed during the Gwangju uprising. She asked herself, ‘Can the present help the past? Can the living save the dead?’ She later realized that the question must be reversed.”

The 1980 Gwangju uprising was a pro-democracy protest violently suppressed by a military junta, leading to hundreds of civilian deaths and marking a pivotal moment in Korea's struggle for democracy.

Park then drew a parallel to the present crisis, saying, “Having lived through the Dec. 3 martial law crisis, I now ask, ‘Can the past help the present?’ And my answer is a resounding yes — because May 1980 has rescued December 2024.”

Tying the past to the present

Park detailed how the courage of citizens and lawmakers in confronting Yoon’s martial law echoed the bravery of Gwangju citizens in 1980.

“If there had been no citizens storming the National Assembly in outrage over Yoon Suk Yeol’s declaration of martial law on Dec. 3; if lawmakers had not broken through police blockades or climbed over the fences of the National Assembly; if martial law forces had succeeded in dragging lawmakers away from the plenary hall before the vote — then South Korea today would be no different from Gwangju in May 1980,” he said.

“May 1980 helped December 2024. The dead have saved the living. Our democracy owes an immeasurable debt to Gwangju,” Park said.

Park called the Dec. 3 martial law declaration “a blatant violation of the Constitution and a serious breach of the law,” adding, “It is undeniable that Yoon Suk Yeol was the mastermind of this treason.”

“This martial law lacked any of the constitutional requirements for its enactment. It violated criminal laws on insurrection, abuse of authority and obstruction of official duties, and it trampled on the people’s sovereignty, democracy and the rule of law,” Park said.

Call to restore constitutional order

Park urged his colleagues to vote for impeachment, emphasizing their constitutional duty. “The Dec. 3 martial law was an unequivocal violation of the Constitution and a grave breach of the law,” he said.

“To restore constitutional order, the National Assembly must use its authority to suspend Yoon Suk Yeol’s presidential duties. This is the fastest and most orderly way to bring resolution to the crisis caused by martial law,” he said.

In his closing remarks, Park addressed the plenary hall, saying, “This is our moment to act, to fulfill our responsibility to history and to the people.”

This article is translated by generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.