The CNU Student Association held an emergency general meeting on May 6, 1980, and designated May 8 to 14 as the period of “Gathering for Nation and Democratization,” demanding the autonomy of academies, and the lifting of emergency martial law, and calling for the participation of conscientious professors and citizens. On May 14, about 7,000 CNU students gathered and held a rally in the square in front of the Jeonnam Provincial Office, and on May 16, about 50,000 people including CNU professors, students, and citizens participated in a torchlight demonstration. CNU professors also participated in the rally, announcing a statement urging the immediate lifting of martial law, the enactment of a constitutional law that reflects the will of the people, transfer of power to a democratic government, the achievement of democratization of academies, and discretion and peaceful measures to students.