hankyoreh

2017. The National Institute of Forensic Scientists determined that the marks were left by helicopter fire that struck the inside of the broadcasting building. (Yonhap News)

Military helicopters were confirmed to have fired upon Gwangju citizens during the May 1980 Democratization Movement, a Ministry of National Defense special committee investigating the uprising announced on Feb. 7. The committee, which is headed by attorney Lee Geon-ri, also confirmed that the Army, Navy, and Air Force joined in a suppression operation at the time that included using naval vessels to seal off the waters at Mokpo and prevent demonstrators from escaping via water.

“The Army was confirmed to have used 500MD attack helicopters and UH-1H utility helicopters to fire multiple times upon Gwangju citizens on May 21 and May 27, 1980,” Lee said during a press conference that day at the Ministry of National Defense complex.

This marks the first time a South Korean government-led committee has officially confirmed fire from helicopters during the uprising. Lee also said the Air Force “took the unusual measure of placing F-5 fighters from the 10th Fighter Wing in Suwon and A-37 attack aircraft from the 3rd Training Wing in Sacheon on standby with MK-82 bombs.”

Thousands of citizens gather in front of the South Jeolla Provincial Government Office in Gwangju during the May 1980 Democratic Movement. (Hankyoreh Archive)

But Lee declined to present a conclusion on whether the aims of placing the aircraft on standby with the bombs was part of a plan for a bombing attack on Gwangju, saying that further investigation was needed.

The Navy (Marines) was also found to have placed 448 troops with the 33rd Squadron of the 1st Marine Division’s 3rd Regiment in Masan on standby as of May 18 for operations in Gwangju, only to lift the order when the suppression operation was altered. A navy vessel (309th Formation) was confirmed to have been sent in for a joint naval blockade operation with Coast Guard at Mokpo to prevent demonstrators from fleeing by sea.

Lee called this the “first confirmation that the martial law command used the three armed forces branches in a joint operation to quash the May 1980 Democratization Movement.”

Former employees who worked at the Jeonil building in downtown Gwangju inspect bullet holes left by helicopter fire on the building’s 10th floor on Feb. 23

As a basis for the helicopter claims, the committee cited numerous written and spoken orders for helicopter fire from the martial law command beginning on May 21. The “Guidelines for Helicopter Operation Plan Implementation” communicated on May 22 to the combat troop education and training command included orders for firing from the helicopter, conducting aerial reconnaissance from the skies, and for troops traveling by bus and automobile to fire upon and suppress groups involved in ambushes, arson, and gunfire according to orders from ground unit commanders.

Additional evidence cited by the committee included accounts from four pilots with the 103rd Squadron who claimed to have been mobilized with 500 Vulcan cannon rounds each on two AH-1J Cobra helicopters on May 22; eyewitness accounts of helicopter fire on May 21 and 27; and 150 bullet holes from helicopter fire on the 10th floor of Gwangju’s Jeonil Building. Helicopter pilots mobilized at the time have acknowledged flying with weapons but denied opening fire.

Established in Sept. 2017 on orders from President Moon Jae-in, the special committee has been investigating whether helicopters opened fire and fighter aircraft were placed on standby for bombing during the May 1980 Democratization Movement.

By Park Byong-su, senior staff writer

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