Commander of special operations was in Gwangju when helicopter fire on civilians

Posted on : 2019-04-01 17:06 KST Modified on : 2019-04-01 17:06 KST
Newly disclosed situation log contradicts Jung’s previous claim he was in Seoul
Jung Ho-yong (right)
Jung Ho-yong (right)

A newly released military document confirms that Jung Ho-yong, 88, then commander of special operations in the South Korean military, rode a helicopter into Gwangju on May 21, 1980, the very day that martial law troops fired on demonstrators around Geumnam Street, in front of the South Jeolla Provincial Office, during the Gwangju Democratization Movement. This flatly contradicts Jung’s claim that he was in Seoul when troops opened fire on civilians in front of the provincial office. The 3rd, 7th and 11th Airborne Brigades, which were under Jung’s command, had been deployed to Gwangju at that time, but this is the first military document to emerge that shows that Jung himself was in the city on May 21.

According to an operational situation log from the army’s operational and educational staff that was exclusively acquired by the Hankyoreh on Mar. 31, the “aircraft support” section for May 21, 1980, includes a record written in Chinese characters stating that “the special operations commander and two other individuals” used a UH-1 utility helicopter (the records simply state “UH-1”) between 8 and 10:20 am. The helicopter’s destination was Gwangju. This document also states that five 500MD helicopters, used for firing tear gas, had also been deployed to Gwangju.

 former commander special operations in the South Korean military
former commander special operations in the South Korean military

These records clash with Jung’s claims. “When the situation deteriorated [while I was in Seoul on May 21], I was urgently contacted about whether to open fire. While I wasn’t in the chain of command, I strictly ordered the troops to hold their fire,” Jung said in an interview published in the May 1988 issue of the Kyunghyang Monthly. Ex-president Chun Doo-hwan has also denied that martial law forces fired on demonstrators in front of the provincial office. Despite the importance of this incident, which could provide crucial direct evidence that key figures in the military junta ordered troops to fire on civilians before explicitly ordering them to defend themselves, the truth has remained hidden for nearly 39 years.

The document stating that Jung was in Gwangju on May 21 also corresponds to the testimony of Kim Yong-jang, who was a counterespionage intelligence agent with the US military’s 501st Brigade in Gwangju at the time of the movement. “On May 21, Defense Security Commander Chun [Doo-hwan] had a meeting at the Gwangju Airport with Special Operations Commander Jung Ho-yong and Colonel Lee Jae-woo with the 505 Security Unit, and shortly after they returned to Seoul in a helicopter, the firing and slaughter occurred,” Kim said during an interview with JTBC on Mar. 14.

Evidence that order to fire on civilians given outside official command chain

Given these circumstances, the confirmation that Jung Ho-yong was in Gwangju gives more weight to the theory that the order to fire on demonstrators was made outside of the official chain of command. Prior to this, various pieces of evidence, both direct and circumstantial, have come to light showing that troops fired on demonstrators. In Feb. 2018, a special investigatory commission at the Ministry of National Defense concluded that army helicopters had fired on Gwangju civilians on May 21 and 27.

Lee Jae-ui, a researcher on the Gwangju Democratization Movement, stressed that “the fact that helicopters fired on demonstrators on the ground shows the falsity of the claim that the soldiers were in danger and opened fire in self-defense, to protect themselves.” This is leading some to stress the importance of tracing the unofficial line of command leading from the commander of the airborne brigades to the special operations commander and to the defense security commander.

 greets then South Jeolla Governor Jang Hyeong-tae on May 27
greets then South Jeolla Governor Jang Hyeong-tae on May 27
Question of whether Chun Doo-hwan accompanied Jung

“One of the questions that needs to be answered by the commission charged with investigating the Gwangju Democratization Movement is whether Defense Security Commander Chun Doo-hwan was one of the two people who accompanied the special operations commander,” said Jung Su-man, former chair of a group representing the families of victims killed in the movement.

“I went back and forth [between Seoul and Gwangju during the movement]. I don’t remember for sure [whether I rode a helicopter to Gwangju on May 21], but what I said back then [during the interview with the Kyunghyang Monthly in May 1988] should all be true,” Jung Ho-yong said during a telephone call with the Hankyoreh on Sunday.

 1980. (provided by the May 18 Democratization Movement archives)
1980. (provided by the May 18 Democratization Movement archives)

“I never met the defense security commander in Gwangju during the movement,” Jung insisted.

Jung also denied any knowledge about who was responsible for the troops opening fire on May 21. “All I did was assign our units [to Gwangju]. Everything that happened in Gwangju was done by the divisional commander in Gwangju and after that by the combat education commander and their people,” he said.

A military document revealing that Jang was in Gwangju when a helicopter opened fire on civilians during the Gwangju Democratization Movement on May 21
A military document revealing that Jang was in Gwangju when a helicopter opened fire on civilians during the Gwangju Democratization Movement on May 21

By Jung Dae-ha, Gwangju correspondent

Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]

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