President Roh Moo-hyun hosted a luncheon meeting for some 40 leaders of the June 1987 pro-democracy movement at Cheong Wa Dae Tuesday.

Cheong Wa Dae officials said the meeting was arranged in remembrance of the pro-democracy movement as well as to discuss a wide range of state affairs, including the North Korean nuclear issue, and to seek the participants' support in forging public reconciliation and reform.

Among those present were poet Ko Un, lawyer Hahn Seung-hun, and parents of former student activists who were either tortured to death or killed in street demonstrations during the reign of South Korea's past authoritarian governments.

Earlier, Roh had considered attending a ceremony marking the 16th anniversary of the pro-democracy movement at the Anglican Church in central Seoul, but chose not to do so for security reasons, and sent a message instead.

The pro-democracy movement in 1987, known here as the "June Struggle," against then military dictator Chun Doo-hwan, led to nationwide protests that eventually forced the former army general from office the following year.