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🇰🇷 South Korea /Culture & Society

'Spring of Seoul' figures attend forum on May 18th movement, sparking accusations of defamation

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

Translated from Korean, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • A forum on the May 18th democratization movement hosted by a ruling party lawmaker included controversial figures from the past authoritarian regime.
  • Participants, including a former aide to President Chun Doo-hwan and a scholar known for revising historical narratives, questioned the established understanding of the Gwangju Uprising.
  • The event sparked criticism from the opposition party, which accused the organizers of defaming a significant historical event and demanded accountability from the ruling party.

A forum on the May 18th democratization movement, hosted by ruling party lawmaker Lee Jin-sook, has ignited controversy by featuring figures associated with the former authoritarian regime. Among the attendees was Huh Hwa-pyeong, a former aide to President Chun Doo-hwan and a key figure in the 1979 military coup, whose character was depicted in the film 'Spring of Seoul.' Huh, who later served as a presidential secretary and a member of the National Assembly, is now the chairman of the Mirae Korea Foundation.

The ten-day disturbance that occurred in Gwangju in May 1980.

— Lee Young-hoonLee Young-hoon, a scholar and presenter at the forum, described the May 18th Gwangju Uprising in a way that downplayed its significance.

The forum's main presenter, Lee Young-hoon, a prominent "New Right" scholar, referred to the Gwangju Uprising as a "ten-day disturbance" and argued for a reevaluation of its historical narrative, which he claims is dominated by "leftist political forces and leftist historical literature." Lee has previously courted controversy with his views on comfort women and historical interpretations of Japanese colonial rule.

It is not right to define the many human casualties that occurred during the uprising as a massacre planned by state violence.

— Lee Young-hoonLee Young-hoon, a scholar and presenter at the forum, questioned the established narrative of state-sponsored violence during the Gwangju Uprising.

Another speaker, Joo Dae-hwan, chairman of the Democratic Movement Comrades Association, opposed including the spirit of the May 18th movement in the constitution's preamble. He argued that the Korean War was a far larger event, yet his generation did not seek to enshrine it in the constitution.

The Korean War was about ten times larger than the May 18th democratization movement, but our parents' generation did not try to put the Korean War in the preamble of the constitution.

— Joo Dae-hwanJoo Dae-hwan, chairman of the Democratic Movement Comrades Association, argued against enshrining the spirit of the May 18th movement in the constitution.

This event echoes a similar controversy in 2019 when a forum hosted by then-ruling party lawmakers featured a presenter who claimed the Gwangju Uprising was a riot instigated by North Korean forces. The opposition Democratic Party has announced plans to submit a motion calling for Lee Jin-sook's expulsion from the party, condemning the forum as an insult to historical truth and the legitimacy of the democratic republic.

Insulting the citizens' struggle that defended democracy with blood and tears in the name of academic research and re-examination is nothing more than distorting historical truth and denying the legitimacy of the democratic republic.

— Han Byung-doHan Byung-do, acting leader of the Democratic Party, criticized the forum for its controversial framing of the Gwangju Uprising.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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