President Lee Jae-myung‘s Market Visit: What He Bought in Jeju’s Dongmun Market!

President Lee Jae-myung visited Dongmun Market in Jeju on March 30 with his wife, Kim Hye-kyung, engaging informally with residents and surveying daily life on the ground.
 
Blue House spokeswoman Kang Yoo-jeong said in a written briefing that after the president held a town-hall meeting at the Jeju Halla Convention Center, he visited the market and stayed for more than an hour. The president, on a two-day trip to Jeju, had visited the April 3 Peace Park the previous day and concluded his visit with the town hall and the market stop.
 
The couple began their market walk at a shop selling fruit-filled glutinous rice cakes. Using Onnuri gift vouchers, they purchased Hallabong and strawberry rice cakes, then bought omegitteok at another rice cake shop and offered them to aides accompanying them.
 
At a vegetable stall, they bought zucchini and garlic stalks; at a fish stall, they purchased Jeju silver hairtail and salted mackerel. To the vendors they offered warm wishes, saying, “I hope you have a good day of sales.”
 
At a kimchi and salted-seafood shop, Mr. Lee asked Mrs. Kim—who was choosing pickled chilies—to “please buy the young napa cabbage kimchi.”
 
At another fish stall, after a vendor mentioned their child is due in June, the couple congratulated them and bought dried Jeju tilefish. At a fruit stand, they sampled cheonhyehyang and surahang citrus and encouraged shoppers, “It’s delicious—buy plenty.”
 
The president bought chocolate and distributed it to his aides, and he and Mrs. Kim shared a Hallabong juice she had purchased. When Mrs. Kim looked at Udo peanuts and biscuits, the president personally handed her an Onnuri voucher.
 
Throughout the market, shoppers repeatedly asked for photos. The presidential couple obliged selfie requests and exchanged high-fives with children.
 
Meanwhile, on accountability for the Jeju April 3 incident, the president said, “Holding those responsible for state violence accountable while they are alive is the most realistic and powerful way to deter state violence and prevent its recurrence,” and he vowed, “I will ensure the state answers if it seeks to rule over the people.”
 
He wrote on his Facebook page that “the Jeju April 3 incident marked the starting point of large-scale state violence in South Korea.”
 
He emphasized that “thanks to the long patience and efforts of Jeju residents, the state is in the process of correcting its wrongs,” adding, “We must make sure that people are never again sacrificed in the name of the state.”
 
He also said, “Repealing the statute of limitations on crimes of state violence is a promise to the people,” and pledged, “I will implement this as soon as possible.”