The nation's outcry to reclaim sovereignty is heating up Jamsil Olympic Park. ⒸHankook-Ilbo

The cry to reclaim national sovereignty is fervent. Anyone who ignores this cry and these screams is an opportunist, a perpetrator of election fraud, a traitor, and an anti-democratic citizen.

When I meet comrades who have been fighting for a long time, I see tears of emotion flowing from their eyes. These are tears shed in the sense of "Is this a dream or reality?" and "Sweet is the end of all bitterness." They are tears of joy seeing middle and high school students, office workers, and young families with strollers, and tears of hope believing that "Korea still has hope" as they witness them finally awaken and take action.

I see another kind of tear. These are the tears shed by those who have newly joined us. They are tears of regret, wondering if the Republic of Korea has deteriorated to this extent, due to the absurd election results. When I meet such individuals, I approach them and offer encouragement. This is because we are now "comrades" with the same goal.

The assembly, or rather, the ongoing demonstration at Olympic Park has been continuing for 24 hours. History will record this as a far nobler struggle than the April 19 Revolution or the June Democracy Movement. This is because the current struggle is for a "Second Founding" of the nation.

Democracy has been given a death sentence. This is a separate issue from preferring one political party over another. Although the People Power Party lost due to election fraud, it is teeming with 'enchufados' and political opportunists, not politicians, under the remote control of the Chinese Communist Party. Some lawmakers and district party committee chairpersons visit the scene in Jamsil, but many political opportunists remain engrossed solely in political engineering.

I believe there needs to be a significant reshuffling in the upcoming by-elections, regardless of the outcome of the elections. This is because people who are indifferent to the usurpation of national sovereignty should not be involved in politics.

Despite our different tears, they are ultimately the same tears shed for the reset of the Republic of Korea. We want to be the "I and we" who can proudly say, "We were there, at the scene of history," when someone asks in June 2026, "Where were you?"

◆ Cho Yang-gun, Columnist

Head of the National Struggle Headquarters for the April 15th Election Fraud (Guktubon)

External Affairs Chief of the Freedom High School Federation