ⓒYONHAP News

A ceremony marking the 42nd anniversary of the May 18 pro-democracy movement, also known as the “Gwangju Uprising,” was held in the southwestern city on Wednesday.

Some two-thousand people attended the event, including President Yoon Suk Yeol, Cabinet ministers and about 100 lawmakers each from both the ruling People Power Party and the main opposition Democratic Party.

In a speech, Yoon offered condolences to bereaved family members of those who lost their lives fighting for democracy and human rights in the 1980 democratization movement. He also stressed the need to uphold and guard the spirit of the uprising.

Yoon said the nation remembers the sacrifices made in bloodshed to protect liberal democracy and the values of human rights.

Emphasizing the spirit of the movement is the restoration of universal values, itself the very spirit of a democratic Constitution, he said every person in the country should be able to enjoy the values of liberty and human rights.

Continuing with the theme of unity, the president pledged to support development in Gwangju and the surrounding Jeolla region, referring to their role in advancing the country's artificial intelligence and technology-based industries.

At the end of the ceremony, the president, government officials and ruling party lawmakers joined other participants in singing the protest song "Marching for the Beloved,” breaking from previous conservative governments which had refrained from singing in unison.