Distortion and Defamation... The Unfinished 5·18 'Historical Judgment'

Jeon Du-hwan "No Helicopter Shooting"
Jimanwon 'Defamation of Citizens' During Trial

On the 27th, three weeks before the 40th anniversary of the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement, former President Jeon Du-hwan, who is scheduled to appear in the Gwangju court on charges of defamation against the late Father Jo Bi-o, is leaving his residence in Yeonhui-dong, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporters Kim Hyung-min and Cho Sung-pil] The judicial condemnation of the new military regime led by Chun Doo-hwan, who pointed guns at citizens demanding democracy in 1980, was carried out by the Supreme Court in 1997. Most of the key military figures at the time, including former presidents Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo, were sentenced to prison terms. However, historical condemnation has yet to be achieved even 40 years after the May 18 Democratic Movement. The distortion and disparagement of the May 18 Democratic Movement continue to expand and reproduce, leading to ongoing criminal trials for this reason.

The condemnation of May 18 began during the Kim Young-sam administration in 1995. The Kim Young-sam government initiated investigations into the 12.12 military coup and the May 18 massacre, aiming to correct past wrongs, triggered by the investigation into former President Roh Tae-woo’s power-related corruption case. In January of the following year, prosecutors indicted 16 key figures related to the incident. Among those indicted for the May 18 massacre were six individuals, including Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo.

In 1997, the Supreme Court confirmed guilty verdicts for most of those indicted on charges related to the May 18 massacre, including rebellion, leading a rebellion, and murder for the purpose of rebellion. Chun was sentenced to life imprisonment, and former President Roh was sentenced to 17 years in prison. Only Park Jun-byeong, who was the commander of the 20th Division at the time of May 18, was acquitted; the other three defendants also received confirmed prison sentences. However, their detention did not last beyond the year. In December of the year when the late President Kim Dae-jung was elected, he requested a pardon in the spirit of forgiveness and reconciliation as president-elect, which Kim accepted, leading to the release of Chun and others. However, Chun was ordered to pay a confiscation amount of 220.5 billion won by the Supreme Court ruling, and he has yet to pay about half of it, 100.55 billion won.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

While the state held criminal responsibility, the historical truth remains unresolved. The unresolved perspectives have caused further confusion, with repeated incidents of distortion and disparagement of the May 18 Democratic Movement and ongoing criminal trials. The trial of Chun, who is involved in this process, is one such case. In April 2017, Chun was indicted for defaming the late Father Cho Bi-o by claiming in his memoir that Father Cho’s eyewitness testimony of helicopter gunfire was false, calling him a "shameless liar unworthy of being called a clergyman." Chun did not attend the trial after his first appearance, but appeared in court last month after the court mentioned issuing a warrant for his arrest. Chun denies the charges, stating "there was no helicopter gunfire."

If the court concludes in Chun’s defamation trial that "helicopter gunfire did occur," there is likely to be increased calls to bring related responsible parties back to court. Although there are arguments that the statute of limitations has already expired, some legal experts argue that punishment is possible based on the 1995 Special Act on the May 18 Democratic Movement and other related laws that suspended the statute of limitations.

Far-right commentator Ji Man-won is also undergoing a criminal trial for defaming citizens who participated in the May 18 Democratic Movement by labeling them as North Korean special forces. Ji is also charged with defaming the late Kim Sa-bok, a real-life taxi driver depicted in the film "A Taxi Driver," by falsely labeling him a "communist." The first trial court sentenced him to two years in prison and a fine of 1 million won in February. However, he still denies the charges and has filed an appeal against the first trial verdict, with the second trial pending.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.