President Lee Jae-myung, National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-sik, and Democratic Party of Korea leader Jung Chung-rae shed tears on the 8th for different reasons. The president did so at the Parents' Day ceremony; the speaker did so at the National Assembly, where a vote in the plenary session on the amendment to the Constitution of the Republic of Korea fell through; and the party leader did so at an on-site Supreme Council meeting while referring to the Dec. 3 martial law.

President Lee Jae-myung wipes away tears during the 54th Parents' Day ceremony at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Seoul on the 8th. /Courtesy of News1

According to political circles and others, the president attended the Parents' Day ceremony at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Jung-gu, Seoul, and shed tears after personally pinning carnation boutonnieres on the parents of public officials who died in the line of duty. The parents attending the ceremony included the fathers of the late Fire Lieutenant Kim Su-gwang and Fire Sergeant Park Su-hun, who died in the line of duty in the Mungyeong, North Gyeongsang fire; the late Fire Lieutenant Lim Seong-cheol, who died in the Jeju warehouse fire; and the late Fire Sergeant Lee Ho-hyeon, who died in the Gangneung, Gangwon fire.

The president held their hands as he pinned on the carnations. First lady Kim Hea-kyung also welled up and shared a hug with the mother of one of the fallen public officials. The president later said in his congratulatory remarks, "As I was handing over the carnations, I suddenly began to cry," and noted, "Your hearts must ache. I offer my condolences." During the speech, he again shed tears while mentioning pinning on the carnations. The president said, "On Parents' Day, there are people who are in pain as they miss family they cannot meet."

At an on-site Supreme Council meeting at the campaign office of Democratic Party of Korea Songpa District Chief candidate Jo Jae-hee in Songpa-gu, Seoul, on the 8th, as party leader Jung Chung-rae chokes up while speaking about the Noh Sang-won notebook, Seoul mayoral candidate Chong Won-o (left) and floor leader Han Byung-do console him. /Courtesy of News1

In terms of timing, the party leader cried second. After doing a milk delivery experience in Songpa-gu, Seoul, the party leader, at an on-site Supreme Council meeting, brought up that the second comprehensive special counsel team conducted an on-site verification of the Yeonpyeongdo detention camp listed in the "Noh Sang-won notebook," saying, "Isn't it that there were as many as 18 places with iron bars that could hold 500 people?" and added, "If martial law had succeeded, might President Lee Jae-myung and I perhaps have been locked up there?" In the middle of his remarks, the party leader said, "I shouldn't be like this," as his eyes reddened.

The speaker cried last. In the afternoon, the speaker convened a plenary session in the main chamber to introduce the constitutional amendment to the agenda, but when the People Power Party opposed it with a filibuster and other tactics, he declared an adjournment, saying, "I will not introduce it." He then said, "I feel like I'm going to burst with anger and cry," and, during 16 minutes of remarks directed at the People Power Party, he choked up with emotion and wiped away tears.

National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik wipes the corner of his eye as he steps down from the rostrum after the adjournment of the 2nd plenary session of the 435th National Assembly (extraordinary session) at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 8th. /Courtesy of News1

The scenes of the president, the party leader, and the speaker shedding tears were broadcast live through various TV channels and YouTube.

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