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President Yoon Suk-yeol will visit the southwestern city of Gwangju next week to commemorate a democracy uprising that led to the massacre of hundreds of civilians in 1980, his office said Friday.
Yoon will travel to Gwangju, 329 kilometers south of Seoul, to attend a state memorial ceremony on the anniversary of the May 18 uprising at the May 18th National Cemetery.
The visit will mark Yoon’s first trip outside of Seoul since taking office Tuesday.
During a visit to the cemetery in November as a presidential candidate, Yoon said he has always believed in the need to stipulate the spirit of the democracy uprising in the Constitution.
He also apologized in person for his past remarks seen as praising former authoritarian President Chun Doo-hwan, who ordered the bloody suppression of the democracy activists.
The crackdown left more than 200 dead and 1,800 others wounded, according to conservative official data. (Yonhap)