60-Year-Old Who Seized Police Armory Weapons During 5·18 Found 'Not Guilty' After 42 Years in Retrial

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Jin-hyung] A man in his 60s who stole rifles from a police station armory and handed them over to civilian militias during the May 18 Democratic Movement was acquitted after 42 years.

The Criminal Division 12 of Gwangju District Court (Chief Judge Kim Hye-seon) announced on the 1st that it had acquitted Mr. A (66) in a retrial. He had previously been convicted of charges of rebellion and violation of the martial law proclamation.

Mr. A was prosecuted for allegedly stealing 204 M1 rifles from the armory of Haenam Police Station in Jeonnam around 6 p.m. on May 22, 1980, and delivering them to civilian militias.

He also drove a 12-ton truck out of a garage in Naju, carrying about 10 citizens, and protested while shouting slogans such as "Chun Doo-hwan step down" and "Lift the martial law."

The presiding judge stated, "In May 1980, the act of protesting and seizing the police station armory constitutes justifiable defense as it was an act opposing or preventing the constitutional order destruction crimes committed by Chun Doo-hwan and others," adding, "Since this is not a crime, Mr. A is acquitted."

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