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US President Donald Trump speaks with White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows (right) in front of the White House on Oct. 12. (Yonhap News)

South Korean prosecutors have requested a prison sentence for former President Chun Doo-hwan, 89, who is on trial for allegedly defaming late Catholic priest Cho Cheol-hyeon, also known as Cho Pius. Cho had reported seeing government helicopters firing on protesters during the Gwangju Democratization Movement, which began on May 18, 1980.

The prosecutors requested that Chun be sentenced to 18 months in prison during the final hearing in the defamation trial against Chun, on Oct. 5. The case is being tried by Hon. Kim Jeong-hun, a judge with the 8th criminal division in the Gwangju District Court.

The prosecutors pointed out that a military analysis of the incident in Gwangju had mentioned a high ammunition usage rate, strongly implying that helicopter gunfire had occurred. Furthermore, records from the Korean military’s tank academy in 1980 show that helicopter gunships were deployed to Gwangju when a high-level alert was issued on May 21, 1980. The prosecutors added that bullet holes on the Jeonil Building were apparently caused by helicopter gunfire.

“The testimony of the Gwangju citizens is credible because they reported seeing [helicopter gunfire] at the same time from different locations and because their testimony is consistent with military records. Members of the military have given false testimony in the trial, such as denying that 500MD helicopters engaged in burst fire,” the prosecutors said.

“The defendant, who was the commander of the military at the time, received the Taegeuk Cordon of the Order of Military Merit for Operation Chungjeong in June 1980 despite not even being present in Gwangju during the movement. We hope that the court will use this ruling to restore historical justice, and to ensure that this unjust history is not repeated,” the prosecutors said.

“Even though 100,000 people were gathered in downtown Gwangju in May 1980, there are only a tiny number of witnesses. Cho Pius mistook helicopters flying low overhead for gunfire. The prosecutors could have written a third-rate mystery novel with so much speculation and conjecture, and no objective evidence. Not a single bullet was fired from the helicopters,” said Jeong Ju-gyo, Chun’s attorney, in his closing arguments.

In a memoir published in April 2017, Chun slammed Cho Pius as a “shameless liar” for claiming to have witnessed government helicopters firing on protesters. Chun was subsequently indicted for defamation and has now been on trial for two years and five months.

“I will return my verdict on Nov. 30. Chun’s presence is required at the sentencing,” the judge said.

By Kim Yong-hee, Gwangju correspondent

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