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Lee promises proper compensation for 1960 activists' 'noble sacrifice'

Published: 15 Mar. 2026, 16:49

President Lee Jae Myung and first lady Kim Hye-kyung salute the national flag during a ceremony marking the 66th anniversary of the March 15 Uprising at the National 3·15 Democracy Cemetery in Changwon, South Gyeongsang, on March 15. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

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 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.

Yonhap