Lawsuit for Damages over 'Jeon Du-hwan Memoirs' to be Concluded on August 17

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[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Jin-hyung] The appellate court ruling for the civil lawsuit related to the memoirs of the late Jeon Du-hwan is scheduled to be held on August 17.

The 2nd Civil Division of the Gwangju High Court decided the date of the ruling on the 25th during the appellate trial for damages filed by four May 18 organizations and the family of the late Father Jo Bi-o, Father Jo Young-dae, against Jeon and his son Jeon Jae-guk.

However, with Jeon's passing, his spouse Lee Soon-ja has taken over the lawsuit.

Although the inheritance procedures involving Jeon's grandchildren have not yet been finalized, the amount claimed for damages against Lee is expected to be set at 18.5 million won.

Jeon Jae-guk's claim remains unchanged at 70 million won regardless of the inheritance issue.

The core issues of this trial are summarized into 11 points, among which the greatest disagreement lies over the involvement of North Korean troops and the helicopter gunfire described in the memoirs.

The plaintiffs' legal representatives argued, "While there may be differing views on the democratization movement, the theory of North Korean intervention and helicopter gunfire, and the misinterpretation of facts by viewing it as a riot when North Korean troops did not come, must end."

They added, "We hope that this trial will serve as an opportunity to uncover the truth about the tragic history of state violence and move forward into the future."

The defendants' representatives emphasized, "The Gwangju incident should be addressed in the public domain," and "In other words, the May 18 event cannot have its honor monopolized by any individual or organization."

The representatives stated, "Allowing certain specific groups to monopolize expressions and prohibiting criticism of them is nothing more than ordering all citizens to accept the value system intended by a particular class," and "The memoir is merely a book in which a former president records his subjective thoughts reflecting on past events."

Previously, the first trial court in the civil lawsuit ruled partially in favor of the plaintiffs, finding that 23 claims in Jeon's memoirs?including North Korean troop involvement, helicopter gunfire, martial law forces' use of firearms, and the assault on Gwangju Prison?were false statements without objective evidence.

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