Court recognizes choppers' firing during 1980 Gwangju Uprising
Former President Chun Doo-hwan was found guilty of defaming a late priest, Monday, who had testified to having witnessed some armed helicopters shooting at pro-democracy demonstrators during the May 1980 Gwangju Uprising.
The ex-president was indicted in 2018 on charges of making slanderous statements in a controversial 2017 memoir against the deceased priest, Cho Pius, who gave an eyewitness account of the brutal crackdown.
In the book, Chun rebutted the claims made by the priest, who said he witnessed aerial machine gun fire upon Gwangju citizens, calling him a “shameless liar.”
The crime of defaming the dead can only be acknowledged when it is proved that the victim's honor has been harmed by falsehoods. Therefore, the sentencing ― eight months in prison suspended for two years ― shows in effect that the court concluded that Chun had knowingly denied there were shots fired from helicopters. The ruling is significant in that the judiciary recognized the shooting of civilians by troops under Chun's command as fact. The general-turned-president had persistently denied it despite indisputable evidence provided by many citizens' testimony.
Judge Kim Jung-hoon of the Gwangju District Court said there were reasonable grounds to conclude there was gunfire from helicopter on May 21 and 27, 1980. “The biggest responsibility for the brutal crackdown falls on Chun,” the judge said, urging the former president “to sincerely apologize for the suffering and pain he caused.”
The ruling also broke the logic of Chun and his military colleagues that the shots fired during the pro-democracy uprising were for self-defense. The shooting from armed helicopters showed that the troops fired guns at innocent citizens for the political purpose of a specific group.
During his sentencing hearing, Chun was seen dozing off from time to time and left the court, escorted by bodyguards, without responding to questions. While the litigation was ongoing, he was also spotted playing golf and hosting a lavish dinner for his coup comrades. As the judge pointed out, Chun is most responsible for the blood spilled in the uprising. We urge, once again, Chun to apologize sincerely to the citizens of Gwangju still mired in trauma from losing their loved ones while trying to defend the nation's democracy.