The date marks the night in 2024 when lawmakers rushed to parliament to overturn a short-lived martial law declaration, an episode Lee's supporters have cast as a peaceful democratic uprising they call the "Revolution of Light."
"The National Sovereignty Government will remember and carry forward this great history without fail," Lee wrote in a post on his Facebook account, published on Constitution Day, Friday.
Lee said his administration would systematically gather and preserve records of the revolution so that "K-democracy" could spread as a global model, adding that a presidential Committee of Light had been launched on Monday to steer the effort.
The president invoked the founding charter promulgated on the same date in 1948, saying its declaration that sovereignty rests with the people had served for 78 years as the compass guiding the democratic republic.
He extended thanks to citizens who, he said, had braved the depths of winter to defend the country's democracy.
The presidential office was to host an evening reception for invited citizens to mark the committee's launch, where Lee and guests were to watch "Ran 12·3," a documentary by director Lee Myung-se chronicling the events surrounding the martial law crisis.
The committee, first established in March, is tasked with collecting historical materials, designating a commemoration day and installing monuments, though the plan to make Dec. 3 a public holiday still requires legislation to advance through the National Assembly.
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