5·18 Deployed Martial Law Troops: "Surrounded Soldiers Were Protected by Gwangju Citizens"

Shin Sun-yong, Major of the 3rd Airborne Special Forces Brigade at the Time, Visits 5·18 Cemetery After 41 Years

Repeatedly Apologizes Throughout the Visit... "Will Do Our Best to Reveal the Truth"

Shin Sun-yong, a paratrooper battalion major during the May 18 Gwangju Uprising, is paying tribute at the National May 18 Democratic Cemetery for the first time in 41 years.

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] A martial law army commander who was deployed to Gwangju in May 1980 and carried out the 5.18 suppression operation visited Gwangju again after 41 years and repeatedly apologized.

On the 21st, Shin Sun-yong, a major of the 11th Battalion of the 3rd Airborne Special Forces Brigade during the 5.18 incident, visited the National 5.18 Democratic Cemetery in Unjeong-dong, Buk-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City, paid respects, and bowed his head.

From the moment he entered the “Gate of Democracy,” the entrance to the 5.18 Democratic Cemetery, at 3 p.m., former Major Shin bowed his head repeatedly and said, “I am sorry.” This was his first visit to the 5.18 Democratic Cemetery since 1980.

He squinted against the pouring sunlight and wore a mask, but his solemnity and remorse toward the citizens of Gwangju were evident.

He carefully wrote in the guestbook, “I am sorry for being late. I will do my best to resolve your grievances,” one letter at a time, and then began his tribute.

Standing in front of the memorial tower, he offered flowers he had prepared in advance to the spirits of May, then knelt and performed a deep bow while once again shouting, “I am sorry. I will do my best to reveal the truth.” Even during the moment of silent prayer, he clasped his hands tightly while wearing white gloves.

Later, passing by the Gwangju Prison where he was stationed during the deployment to Gwangju, he visited the graves of the martyrs Ko Gyu-seok and Seo Man-o, held their tombstones, and bowed his head saying, “I was wrong.”

Former Major Shin suppressed citizens who were protesting in areas such as Geumnam-ro and Gwangju Prison in May 1980.

He clearly remembers the situation 41 years ago and expressed gratitude, saying he was rather helped by the citizens at that time.

He was deployed to Gwangju on May 20, 1980, and assigned to the Geumnam-ro intersection unit.

He recalled, “Shortly after arriving at the Geumnam-ro intersection, I was surrounded by about 20,000 Gwangju citizens with no way to escape. I sat my troops down on the ground, took only a megaphone, ran to the center, and pleaded, ‘I came under orders and was managing traffic for the citizens. I did not use violence or cause harm. Please help us.’”

He continued, “Then, about 7 or 8 citizens surrounded me and shouted, ‘We must help these people.’ Like the miracle of Moses, the citizens cleared the way and guided us to our destination. They even brought a truckload of food and drinks for the troops who had not eaten all day.”

He added, “When I was ordered to deploy to Gwangju, I was told a riot was happening. Most soldiers probably thought the same.”

He also claimed, “They called them rioters, but if they really were rioters, would we have been safe at the Geumnam-ro intersection? None of our unit members were injured, which proves that they were not rioters nor were North Korean troops involved.”

Shin Sun-yong, a major of the Airborne Unit during the May 18 Gwangju Uprising, visited the National May 18 Democratic Cemetery for the first time in 41 years and after paying respects, he gently touched the tombstone of the victims from that time.

Former Major Shin also revealed that his unit directly secretly buried three people who died after being shot by his troops toward the citizens at that time.

He said, “When we were stationed at Gwangju Prison, the sentry post on the prison’s outer wall automatically fired when citizens passed by. Three people died then, and we buried them on the hill in front of the prison.”

He added, “Citizens were armed with guns because their hometowns and families’ lives were threatened at that time. As a commander, I am sorry and will take responsibility for the mistakes of my troops.”

He further stated, “The May 18 Gwangju incident was inevitable for the birth of the new military regime under Chun Doo-hwan and was carried out through thorough planning. There is no excuse for taking innocent citizens’ lives for his own power.”

He also added, “I hope that more confessions of conscience from martial law troops like me will come out in the future and that the truth will be clearly revealed.”

Meanwhile, former Major Shin has been making confessions of conscience to the 5.18 Memorial Foundation since 2016 and is actively cooperating with the foundation in uncovering the truth.

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