[Green Party Korea Statement]
Toward a World of Democracy and Human Rights
Remembering the Spirit of Resistance: 77 Years Since April 3rd in Jeju
Today marks the 77th year since the events of April 3rd in Jeju. On this day of remembrance, Green Party Korea honors the resistance of those in Jeju who stood against state violence, and we reflect on the loss of nearly 30,000 lives.
The April 3rd events were not an isolated episode. They were the result of geopolitical division and authoritarian suppression during Korea’s early post-liberation period. Korea was not yet divided into North and South. However, following liberation from Japanese colonial rule, the U.S. military government and right-wing forces in Korea moved to establish a separate regime in the South through a unilateral election. Jeju, the site of mass opposition to this plan, became the center of confrontation and, ultimately, a large-scale political tragedy.
On September 7, 1945, General Douglas MacArthur, Commander-in-Chief, United States Army Forces, Pacific, issued Proclamation No. 1, declaring military occupation of all Korean territory south of the 38th parallel. The proclamation warned that any resistance to military authority or disruption of public order would be severely punished. This set the precedent for the long campaign of repression that followed.
The Committee for the Preparation of Korean Independence (CPKI), which had resisted Japanese colonial rule and worked to build a post-liberation future, was declared illegal. The widespread calls across the peninsula for a unified and independent democracy were crushed through force. In the name of administrative convenience, the U.S. military government retained colonial-era officials and police forces, deepening resentment among the Korean public, who had endured decades of occupation. At the same time, daily life for ordinary people, already strained by a devastated postwar economy, became even more precarious. Inflation soared, and economic policies such as the liberalization of rice prices - a U.S. military initiative that abruptly ended rationing and triggered rice hoarding, shortages, and price surges amid postwar instability - further intensified public hardship.
Amid this political and economic uncertainty, the announcement of a May 10, 1948, election to form a government only in the South sparked growing opposition, particularly in Jeju. In response, the U.S. military government and Syngman Rhee launched a sweeping campaign of repression. Rhee seized the moment to consolidate his political power. He aligned himself not only with U.S. authorities but also with violent far-right paramilitary groups such as the Northwest Youth Association and the United Young Men’s Party. Through this alliance, he led a brutal campaign of mass violence, using Jeju as a warning to all who opposed the division of the peninsula.
Today, amid the political crisis triggered by the December 3, 2025, martial law declaration and its aftermath, the meaning of April 3rd carries renewed urgency. Immediately following Yoon Suk Yeol’s declaration of martial law, Proclamation No. 1 from the Martial Law Command was issued, banning all political activist,y including parliamentary sessions, local government functions, party operations, public gatherings, protests, and political organizing. It was only the immediate, organized response from citizens who took to the streets and confronted power head-on that brought down the attempted autocoup. And yet, we must ask ourselves: what kind of country would we now be living in if that resistance had not come in time?
The unrest and instability we face today bear a troubling resemblance to the conditions of 1948, when the April 3rd events unfolded. As the economy deteriorates, a handful of reactionary voices, disconnected from the real lives and safety of the public, are mobilizing discontent through manufactured ideological threats. In this climate, hate and violence are once again becoming normalized.
The tragedies of April 3rd and the chaos sparked by the December 3rd martial law both reveal the kind of disaster that unfolds when politics is disconnected from the lives and labor of the people.
In moments like these, what we need are the most basic conditions for social cohesion: democracy and human rights. By democracy, we mean more than the formal act of voting. We mean the power to shape our own lives and futures in the places we live and work. And by human rights, we mean creating the equal conditions that make such democracy possible—conditions free from all forms of discrimination and hate.
Green Party Korea does not doubt that the Constitutional Court will deliver a unanimous ruling to remove Yoon Suk Yeol from office. But the verdict is not the end. It is only the beginning. On that minimal foundation of constitutional principle, we will move forward to build a new society where democracy and human rights are not only protected by law but woven into the fabric of everyday realities of life and labor. This is how we prevent future violence and injustice. This is our commitment as we mark the 77th year since the April 3rd resistance in Jeju.
Green Party Korea
April 3, 2025
[Green Party Korea Statement]
Toward a World of Democracy and Human Rights
Remembering the Spirit of Resistance: 77 Years Since April 3rd in Jeju
Today marks the 77th year since the events of April 3rd in Jeju. On this day of remembrance, Green Party Korea honors the resistance of those in Jeju who stood against state violence, and we reflect on the loss of nearly 30,000 lives.
The April 3rd events were not an isolated episode. They were the result of geopolitical division and authoritarian suppression during Korea’s early post-liberation period. Korea was not yet divided into North and South. However, following liberation from Japanese colonial rule, the U.S. military government and right-wing forces in Korea moved to establish a separate regime in the South through a unilateral election. Jeju, the site of mass opposition to this plan, became the center of confrontation and, ultimately, a large-scale political tragedy.
On September 7, 1945, General Douglas MacArthur, Commander-in-Chief, United States Army Forces, Pacific, issued Proclamation No. 1, declaring military occupation of all Korean territory south of the 38th parallel. The proclamation warned that any resistance to military authority or disruption of public order would be severely punished. This set the precedent for the long campaign of repression that followed.
The Committee for the Preparation of Korean Independence (CPKI), which had resisted Japanese colonial rule and worked to build a post-liberation future, was declared illegal. The widespread calls across the peninsula for a unified and independent democracy were crushed through force. In the name of administrative convenience, the U.S. military government retained colonial-era officials and police forces, deepening resentment among the Korean public, who had endured decades of occupation. At the same time, daily life for ordinary people, already strained by a devastated postwar economy, became even more precarious. Inflation soared, and economic policies such as the liberalization of rice prices - a U.S. military initiative that abruptly ended rationing and triggered rice hoarding, shortages, and price surges amid postwar instability - further intensified public hardship.
Amid this political and economic uncertainty, the announcement of a May 10, 1948, election to form a government only in the South sparked growing opposition, particularly in Jeju. In response, the U.S. military government and Syngman Rhee launched a sweeping campaign of repression. Rhee seized the moment to consolidate his political power. He aligned himself not only with U.S. authorities but also with violent far-right paramilitary groups such as the Northwest Youth Association and the United Young Men’s Party. Through this alliance, he led a brutal campaign of mass violence, using Jeju as a warning to all who opposed the division of the peninsula.
Today, amid the political crisis triggered by the December 3, 2025, martial law declaration and its aftermath, the meaning of April 3rd carries renewed urgency. Immediately following Yoon Suk Yeol’s declaration of martial law, Proclamation No. 1 from the Martial Law Command was issued, banning all political activist,y including parliamentary sessions, local government functions, party operations, public gatherings, protests, and political organizing. It was only the immediate, organized response from citizens who took to the streets and confronted power head-on that brought down the attempted autocoup. And yet, we must ask ourselves: what kind of country would we now be living in if that resistance had not come in time?
The unrest and instability we face today bear a troubling resemblance to the conditions of 1948, when the April 3rd events unfolded. As the economy deteriorates, a handful of reactionary voices, disconnected from the real lives and safety of the public, are mobilizing discontent through manufactured ideological threats. In this climate, hate and violence are once again becoming normalized.
The tragedies of April 3rd and the chaos sparked by the December 3rd martial law both reveal the kind of disaster that unfolds when politics is disconnected from the lives and labor of the people.
In moments like these, what we need are the most basic conditions for social cohesion: democracy and human rights. By democracy, we mean more than the formal act of voting. We mean the power to shape our own lives and futures in the places we live and work. And by human rights, we mean creating the equal conditions that make such democracy possible—conditions free from all forms of discrimination and hate.
Green Party Korea does not doubt that the Constitutional Court will deliver a unanimous ruling to remove Yoon Suk Yeol from office. But the verdict is not the end. It is only the beginning. On that minimal foundation of constitutional principle, we will move forward to build a new society where democracy and human rights are not only protected by law but woven into the fabric of everyday realities of life and labor. This is how we prevent future violence and injustice. This is our commitment as we mark the 77th year since the April 3rd resistance in Jeju.
Green Party Korea
April 3, 2025