Assemblyman Lee Hyung-seok: "Professor Park Hoon-tak, involved in the 5·18 defamation controversy, must be punished"

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Rep. Lee Hyung-seok (Democratic Party of Korea, Gwangju Buk-gu Eul) stated on the 15th that Professor Park Hoon-tak of Uideok University, who is embroiled in controversy for disparaging the May 18 Democratic Movement, should be punished under the Historical Distortion Punishment Act.

Professor Park recently described the May 18 Democratic Movement as a "riot involving North Korean troops" during a lecture.

Currently, the May 18 Memorial Foundation and the three May organizations (the Bereaved Families Association, the Injured Association, and the Detained Injured Association) are actively pursuing a plan to file a police complaint against Professor Park for violating the May 18 Historical Distortion Punishment Act, based on legal advice from the Gwangju-Jeonnam branch of the Lawyers for a Democratic Society (hereafter Minbyun).

The May 18 Historical Distortion Punishment Act, which was introduced by Rep. Lee as the main proposer and adopted as the party line of the Democratic Party of Korea, was passed by the National Assembly plenary session last year and has been in effect since its promulgation by the State Council earlier this year.

The law stipulates that anyone who spreads false information about May 18 may face imprisonment of up to five years or a fine of up to 50 million won.

The May 18 Memorial Foundation and others judge that Professor Park’s claim in a non-face-to-face class for students that “the assertion that May 18 was not a democratization movement but a criminal act committed by North Korean troops is supported by considerable scientific evidence and historical testimonies and witnesses” violates Article 8 of the May 18 Historical Distortion Punishment Act.

In particular, the theory of North Korean troop involvement in May 18 has been proven to be a clear falsehood by investigations conducted by successive governments and rulings by the judiciary.

The May 18 Democratic Movement Truth Investigation Committee confirmed in its 2020 second half investigation activity report released on February 17 that North Korean troop involvement in Gwangju is an impossible “fake news.” In May 2013, during the Park Geun-hye administration, the Ministry of National Defense also officially stated that the theory of North Korean troop involvement in May 18 is false.

Furthermore, in 2019, the Supreme Court ruled that Ji Man-won and others who continuously asserted the North Korean troop involvement theory must compensate May 18-related organizations for damages.

If the May 18 Memorial Foundation and others file a complaint against Professor Park, he will become the first subject to be investigated under the enforcement of the May 18 Historical Distortion Punishment Act.

Rep. Lee said, “Professor Park should be punished under the ‘May 18 Historical Distortion Punishment Act’ to prevent the distortion of history and the spread of false information about May 18 from turning 40 years of sorrow into another pain.”