Busan seeks nominations for Democratic Citizens Award

The Busan Democratic Citizens Award organizing committee is seeking nominations for its 35th annual award, with the deadline set for August 18. Established in 1992, the award commemorates and carries forward the spirit of the Busan Democracy Movement, which resisted Park Chung-hee's Yushin dictatorship.

The award recognizes individuals and organizations in the Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam regions who actively practice principles of democracy, human rights, peace, unification, and ecology, and strive to build a healthy community. To date, 29 individuals and 31 organizations have received the award.

Nomination forms are available on the websites of the organizing committee (ohminju.or.kr) and the Busan Democracy Park (demopark.or.kr). Completed forms can be submitted via email, postal mail, or fax. The selection process will be conducted by an operating committee, which will evaluate candidates based on their relevance to the award's objectives, the intensity and sustainability of their activities, and their social contributions and impact.

The award ceremony is scheduled for October 16 at the Democracy Park's Democracy Movement Memorial Hall in Jung-gu, Busan. Winners will receive a plaque and a cash prize of 5 million won for individuals and 10 million won for organizations.

Last year's recipients included Son Yi-heon, who has worked to protect the rights of urban poor and socially vulnerable individuals since founding the Daeyeon-Uam Cooperative in 1991, and Busan University Student Action. The latter group was formed in 2023 to oppose the Yoon Suk-yeol administration's third-party compensation plan for Japanese forced labor victims, actively countering attempts by far-right groups to deny or distort history.

The organizing committee urged citizens to nominate individuals who are dedicated to creating a just and equal world, defending human rights against prejudice and discrimination, and safeguarding peace and coexistence in society.

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We are looking for individuals who are sweating to create a just and equal world, to protect human rights values against prejudice and discrimination, and to safeguard peace and coexistence in our society. We ask citizens to find the candidates.