▲ President Lee Jae Myung delivers an address during a ceremony marking the 66th anniversary of the March 15 democracy movement at the national cemetery in the southeastern city of Changwon on March 15, 2026. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)
▲ President Lee Jae Myung (2nd from L) salutes the national flag during a ceremony marking the 66th anniversary of the March 15 democracy movement at the national cemetery in the southeastern city of Changwon on March 15, 2026. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)
▲ President Lee Jae Myung (L), accompanied by first lady Kim Hea Kyung, pays tribute at a national cemetery honoring victims and democracy activists of the March 15 democracy movement in the southeastern city of Changwon on March 15, 2026. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)

(LEAD) Lee-democracy movement

(LEAD) Lee vows expanded compensation for activists of 1960 democracy movement

(ATTN: ADDS photo)

By Kim Eun-jung

SEOUL, March 15 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Jae Myung said Sunday the government will step up efforts to identify more activists who took part in the democracy movement of 1960 and ensure they receive proper compensation and recognition.

Lee made the pledge during a ceremony marking the 66th anniversary of the March 15 Democracy Movement in the southeastern city of Changwon. He is the first sitting president to attend the ceremony since it was designated a national memorial day in 2010.

"As president of the Republic of Korea, I offer my heartfelt apology and comforting words to the bereaved families of the victims of the March 15 Democracy Movement who suffered great pain due to state violence. I will not forget your noble sacrifice," Lee said in his address.

The democracy movement began March 15, 1960, in Masan, now part of Changwon, as protests against widespread election fraud during the presidential election under then President Rhee Syng-man. The demonstrations later spread nationwide, sparking the April 19 Revolution the following month, a watershed event that led to Rhee's ouster.

Lee vowed the government would continue efforts to honor and remember those who participated in the democracy movement of the 1960s to ensure the spirit of the democracy activists takes firm root in society and is passed on to future generations.

"To that end, the government will grant awards, preserve historical records and properly recognize those who took part in the March 15 Democracy Movement and the April 19 Revolution," he said.

Lee said the lessons of the democracy movement continue to resonate today, noting that citizens defended democratic values during a political crisis on Dec. 3, 2024, when former President Yoon Suk Yeol briefly imposed martial law.

Last month, Yoon was sentenced to life in prison for leading an insurrection linked to his failed martial law bid.

"With firm solidarity and a strong sense of sovereignty, citizens demonstrated the resilience of Korean democracy in a way rarely seen in the world," he said.

Just as the March 15 Democracy Movement is remembered as a victory of the people against the ambition to hold power permanently, Lee said Dec. 3, 2024, will also be remembered as the day citizens overcame "the winter of despair" and opened "a spring of hope."

Ahead of the ceremony, Lee laid a wreath at the national cemetery honoring the victims and democracy activists.

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