Over the past decade, South Korea has faced ideological debates every May over the song “March for Our Beloved” -- whether it should be an official song during a ceremony to honor the victims of the pro-democracy uprising in Gwangju and whether it should be left up to the participants to sing-along.

The dispute is likely to be repeated this year -- and perhaps even intensified -- in the run-up to the May 18 ceremony as the government on Monday rejected a call to designate the controversial song as an official anthem for the ceremony and mandate attendants sing alongside the choir.

Opposition parties and civil activists have urged the government to readopt the song that was made unofficial in 2009 during the conservative Lee Myung-bak administration. Previously all attendees were required to sing the song, but now it is up to them whether to sing along or not.

The liberals insist that the song is crucial to honor the victims of the uprising against the former president Chun Doo-hwan and that it epitomizes their legacy on the nation’s democracy. The conservatives claim the song contains pro-North theme and massive sing-along is inappropriate. 

“Given the fact that the nation is polarized over the song, officials and experts concluded that the government should avoid ideological standoff by forcing the attendants to sing in the choir during the ceremony,” the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans affair said in a statement

The ministry also noted that no other song, including the national anthem, has been designated as an official song for a specific ceremony.

The decision prompted outrage among the opposition parties who have held high hopes of changing the practice since their meeting with President Park Geun-hye last week. The president said on Friday that she would instruct the ministry to reconsider their position toward the practice.

The main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea and the runner-up People’s Party said that unless the president and government overturns the ministry’s decision before the May 18 ceremony, they would not support the administration’s initiatives over the remaining period of Park’s presidency.

The opposition bloc also vowed to demand the resignation of veteran minister Park Sung-chun, who had reportedly briefed his decision to the president earlier.

“We warn the Park administration of the fallout from their choices. The decision made on May 18 would set the tone of her presidency,” said the Minjoo Party floor leader Rep. Woo Sang-ho.

The People’s Party floor leader Rep. Park Jie-won echoed the sentiment, accusing the president of disavowing her pledges to steer the country through coordinated partnership with opposition parties.

The frustration was even shared by the ruling Saenuri Party. Faced with declining approval ratings on the back of its election defeat, the conservative party has been softening its stance on the song and on Monday even urged the ministry to reconsider its decision.

“(The ministry’s decision) was regrettable. Since we have two days left before the event, I’m hoping the ministry will change their decision,” said the Saenuri Party floor leader Chung Jin-suk. But he said that he would not support the opposition parties’ move to dismiss the minister.

“March for Our Beloved” is a song composed by Gwangju student activist Kim Jong-ryul and written by renowned novelist Hwang Sok-yong in 1982. The song was featured in a musical dedicated to a spiritual marriage of young couples who were killed during the pro-democracy protest in 1980.

For more than a decade, participants at the annual memorial service have sung together, ever since the liberal Kim Dae-joong administration designated May 18 as a national memorial day in 1997 and the song as an official commemorative theme. But there is no regulation regarding designating a song as an official piece.

Conservatives take issue with the song as it was used as background music for the 1991 North Korean film “Symphonic Poem for the Beloved.” They say a mass sing-along could undermine “national unity” with some right-wing activists claiming that “beloved” refers to the late-North Korea leader Kim Il-sung.

Liberal politicians and civic groups, however, denounce the views as “outrageous.” Even some Saenuri lawmakers, such as Rep Ha Tae-kyung, joined the criticism that the government should be blamed for creating false rumors about the song.

In present day, whether participants sing the song has often shown politicians’ political position. In the 2015 ceremony, then Saenuri Party leader Rep. Kim Moo-sung, who had been on sour terms with the president, sung along with the choir and other liberal lawmakers, while then Financial Minister Choi Kyung-hwan and other lawmakers loyal to the President refused to sing.

By Yeo Jun-suk (jasonyeo@heraldcorp.com)