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Agence France-Presse

The grandson of former South Korean military dictator Chun Doo-hwan apologised Friday for a massacre committed in the 1980s, a move hailed by victims and analysts as symbolic and significant.
Chun Woo-won, 27, became the first member of his family to visit the Gwangju cemetery and say sorry for the 1980 crackdown on a democracy uprising, which killed about 200 people, according to official estimates.
New York-based Chun has attracted widespread media coverage in South Korea for accusing his relatives of corruption in his YouTube and Instagram live-streams.
During one social media broadcast, he claimed to have taken illegal narcotics and was arrested when he landed in Seoul on Tuesday, but released the next day.
South Korean dictator’s widow apologises for husband’s brutal rule
On Friday, Chun was seen in televised footage consoling massacre victims’ relatives.
“I give my sincere apologies. I am sorry,” he said in South Korea’s Gwangju, looking visibly emotional.
“As a family member, I acknowledge that my grandfather Chun Doo-hwan was a sinner and slaughterer who committed such a great crime,” he said at a separate event.
“The citizens of Gwangju, who overcame fear in the midst of military dictatorship and stood against it with courage are heroes and truly the light and salt of our country.”

Soon after Chun Doo-hwan seized power in a 1979 military coup, his troops used deadly force to quell protests in Gwangju.
While he was convicted of treason over the incident in 1996, his sentence was commuted by a presidential pardon, and he never admitted involvement in, or apologised for, the killings.
At the time of the massacre, Chun Doo-hwan’s military regime claimed the protests were a rebellion led by supporters of then-opposition leader Kim Dae-jung and “agitators” sympathetic to North Korea.
As recently as 2019, some extreme-right lawmakers claimed the rebellion was backed by Pyongyang.
But now “there is a consensus that the whole thing was a horrible crime by an illegitimate military government,” Vladimir Tikhonov, professor of Korean studies at the University of Oslo, said.
“Now this consensus is being joined even by a part of the perpetrator’s own family. This is significant, and symbolic.”

Many family members welcomed the younger Chun’s visit, with some giving him a hug. “Thank you for coming,” one told him. “Be brave,” said another.
“Chun Doo-hwan died without ever apologising, so someone in his family should have done it in a proper manner a long time ago,” Shin Yul, a political-science professor at Myongji University said.
“His grandson’s apology today showed that historical tragedies always deserve justice no matter how much time has passed.”


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South Korea

South Korean dictator Chun Doo-hwan’s grandson apologises for ‘sinner and slaughterer’ grandfather and 1980 massacre

Chun Woo-won, grandson of former South Korean president Chun Doo-hwan has apologised for his grandfather’s actions. Photo: AFP

Chun Woo-won, grandson of former South Korean president Chun Doo-hwan, consoles family members of victims of a pro-democracy uprising against military dictatorship in 1980. Photo: AFP

Chun Woo-won, grandson of former South Korean leader Chun Doo-hwan, visits a grave of a victim in Gwangju on March 31, 2023. Photo: Yonhap / AFP

South Korea’s ex-president Chun Doo-hwan, who presided over Gwangju massacre, dies age 90

Former South Korean president Chun Doo-hwan pictured on December 30, 1997. Photo: Reuters

Chun Doo-hwan is escorted by police into the Seoul District Criminal courthouse on March 11, 1996. File photo: Reuters

Doo-hwan makes a nationwide televised address in front of his home in Seoul on December 2, 1995. File photo: AP

Former South Korean presidents Chun Doo-hwan (R) and Roh Tae-woo (L) face a panel of judges at the Seoul Criminal Courthouse on August 26, 1996. File photo: Reuters

A woman visits a grave at a national cemetery honouring those killed in the 1980 Gwangju democracy uprising. File photo: EPA-EFE

Hunt for former South Korean tyrant Chun Doo-hwan's HK$1.1b cash stash

Protesters demand Chun's slush fund be recovered. Photo: AP

Korean ex-dictator Chun Doo-hwan’s artwork auctioned to pay debts

An auction of art works confiscated from the family of former South Korean dictator Chun Doo-Hwan (inset), in Seoul. Photos: AFP

South Korean President Moon Jae-in vows to reopen probe into 1980 Gwangju massacre committed by troops against protesters

South Korean President Moon Jae-in consoles family members of the deceased in front of a grave marker during the 37th annual May 18 Democratic Uprising memorial at the Gwangju National Cemetery. Photo: AP

*** ONE TIME USE ONLY *** May 26-27, 1980, Gwangju, South Korea --- In May 1980, students demonstrated for democracy against the regime of General Chun Doo-Hwan. To suppress the riots, the government sent the army and the elite Special Operations Command. The students' organization did not resist the measures and the rioters were crushed on 27 May, after one week of fighting. --- Image by © Patrick Chauvel/Sygma/Corbis [21FEBRUARY2016 THE REVIEW BOOK LEAD]

Gwangju massacre: scars still raw 40 years after dictator crushed South Korea pro-democracy uprising

A soldier beats a man during pro-democracy protests in the southern city of Gwangju in 1980. File photo: AFP

epa08426932 A woman reacts near a grave at a national cemetery honoring those killed in the 1980 Gwangju democracy uprising, in Gwangju, South korea, 17 May 2020. On 18 May 1980 people in Gwangju rose up against the then-military rule of former general-turned-President Chun Doo-hwan. The uprising, known as May 18 Democratic Uprising, was quashed by a bloody government-led crackdown, which ended with hundreds of people dead or missing. EPA-EFE/YONHAP SOUTH KOREA OUT

This undated handout photo taken in May 1980 and provided by the 5.18 Memorial Foundation on May 15, 2020 shows soldiers charging pro-democracy protesters in the southern city of Gwangju. - On May 18, 1980 demonstrators protesting dictator Chun Doo-hwan's declaration of martial law confronted his troops and 10 days of violence ensued. But conservatives in the South still condemn the uprising as a Communist-inspired rebellion backed by the North, while left-leaning President Moon Jae-in wants to enshrine it in the constitution. (Photo by Handout / 5.18 Memorial Foundation / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / 5.18 MEMORIAL FOUNDATION" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS --- NO ARCHIVES --- TO GO WITH SKorea-politics-democracy-NKorea,FOCUS by Claire LEE /

This handout photo taken on May 23, 1980 and provided by the 5.18 Memorial Foundation on May 15, 2020 shows a people mourning over the coffins of victims of the Gwangju pro-democracy uprising, in Gwangju. - On May 18, 1980 demonstrators protesting dictator Chun Doo-hwan's declaration of martial law confronted his troops and 10 days of violence ensued. But conservatives in the South still condemn the uprising as a Communist-inspired rebellion backed by the North, while left-leaning President Moon Jae-in wants to enshrine it in the constitution. (Photo by Handout / 5.18 Memorial Foundation / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / 5.18 MEMORIAL FOUNDATION" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS --- NO ARCHIVES --- TO GO WITH SKorea-politics-democracy-NKorea,FOCUS by Claire LEE /

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Chun Woo-won, 27, visited Gwangju cemetery and said sorry for the crackdown on a democracy uprising that killed at least 200 people
New York-based Chun has attracted media coverage for accusing his relatives of corruption in his YouTube and Instagram live-streams


Chun Woo-won visited Gwangju cemetery and said sorry for the crackdown on a democracy uprising that killed about 200 people.


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History

South Korean dictator Chun Doo-hwan’s grandson apologises for ‘sinner and slaughterer’ grandfather and 1980 massacre

Chun Woo-won, 27, visited Gwangju cemetery and said sorry for the crackdown on a democracy uprising that killed at least 200 people New York-based Chun has attracted media coverage for accusing his relatives of corruption in his YouTube and Instagram live-streams

Chun Woo-won, 27, visited Gwangju cemetery and said sorry for the crackdown on a democracy uprising that killed at least 200 people

New York-based Chun has attracted media coverage for accusing his relatives of corruption in his YouTube and Instagram live-streams