hankyoreh

Chun Woo-won, the grandson of the late dictator Chun Doo-hwan, wipes down the gravestone for Kim Kyeong-cheol, a martyr of the democratic uprising that was brutally quashed by Chun Doo-hwan in May 1980 in Gwangju, during a visit to the May 18th National Cemetery on March 31. (Yonhap)

Chun Woo-won has announced that he will visit Gwangju once again on Monday to apologize. The 27-year-old grandson of the late Chun Doo-hwan visited Gwangju on March 31 to apologize to the victims and bereaved families of the May 1980 massacre orchestrated by his grandfather.

A statement released by the May 18 Memorial Injured on Thursday Chun said he would go down to Gwangju on April 10, where he will stay for an undisclosed amount of time, and “will continue to apologize for my sins and those of my family, try to nurse the hurt of the Gwangju citizens, and accept the time to repent and reflect.”

Chun said he plans to meet with three public organizations affiliated with the 1980 democratization movement, including an association of bereaved families, the May 18 Democratization Movement Merit Association and the May 18 Memorial Injured.

“I sincerely apologize for coming so late, and I am grateful to the people of Gwangju for graciously welcoming me for doing something that should have happened a long time ago,” Chun said.

Chun also apologized to the soldiers who served in the crackdown on the May 1980 massacre.

“I know that many of the people who are living in trauma, as they had to follow the unjust instructions of the military since they feared my grandfather [Chun Doo-hwan],” he said. “The real perpetrators of the massacre are my grandfather and the head of the military, but it is heartbreaking to see the victims, who have weak social positions, are the ones who are divided and have to see their wounds deepen through time.”

Chun, who is continuing to go public with allegations of his family’s hefty slush funds, is scheduled to appear on the SBS program, “Curious Stories Y,” which is to air on Friday, 9 pm.

By Lee You-jin, staff reporter

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