Ji Manwon, who placed a newspaper ad claiming "North Korean intervention"... 5·18 Foundation calls it "emotional exploitation book sales"

"Lowly Behavior Targeting Conservative Supporters... Must Be Socially Isolated Forever"

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Jin-hyung] On the 12th, the May 18 Memorial Foundation condemned conservative commentator Ji Man-won for placing an advertisement in a newspaper promoting his book that claims North Korean military involvement, calling it a "sensationalist book business."

On that day, the bottom section of page 39 in a daily newspaper featured an advertisement titled "An Appeal from a Military Academy Graduate," displaying cover photos of four books written by Ji related to the May 18 event.

In the advertisement, Ji stated, "I have written 12 history books on May 18 over 20 years. I concluded that May 18 was a 'war crime committed by North Korea,'" adding, "I have uncovered 42 pieces of evidence supporting this."

Ji also claimed, "The Gwangju court fined me 240 million won just because I wrote history books based on new facts. I was also sentenced to two years in prison," and questioned, "Is this how one should be punished for revealing the truth of history?"

In response, the foundation said, "Even if he takes responsibility for his wrong judgment, reflects, and apologizes, it is questionable whether citizens would forgive him. Yet, he is instead selling books targeting conservative supporters," and raised their voice, saying, "He should be permanently isolated from society."

Ji was sentenced to prison in both the first and second trials on appeal for defamation after claiming that Gwangju citizens who participated in the May 18 Democratization Movement were North Korean special forces.

The foundation argued, "Although the court spared him from detention at the time considering his old age, his act of promoting the 'May 18 Appeal' in a newspaper advertisement and showing contempt for the court is disgraceful."

They continued, "The suspicion that North Korean special forces infiltrated Gwangju during the May 18 Democratization Movement has already been proven to be completely false through the investigation by the Truth Commission."