Father Jeong Hyeong-dal Paolo, who did not succumb to the military regime's oppression and revealed the truth of the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement, passed away on the 16th due to an illness. He was 78 years old. Born in 1943 in Naju, Jeonnam, he was ordained as a priest in 1969. He served in pastoral work in Gwangju, Mokpo, Yeosu, Haenam, and other places, retiring in 2011 after serving as the pastor of Unam-dong Parish.
He witnessed the horrors of the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement in 1980 and took the lead in revealing the truth alongside the late Father Jo Bio, Father Nam Jae-hee, Father Kim Seong-yong, and others. In June of that year, he personally wrote the statement "The Truth of the Gwangju Incident," issued by the Gwangju Archdiocese clergy, criticizing the government's false announcements and the biased media coverage. Due to this, he was detained by the military regime and suffered hardships but never ceased his efforts to reveal the truth. In May 1985, he published the "Gwangju Uprising Data Collection," and in 1987, he held photo exhibitions of May 18 in Gwangju, Seoul, and Busan.
The funeral mass will be held at 10 a.m. on the 19th at Yeomju-dong Cathedral. The burial site is Damyang Catholic Cemetery.
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