[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Jin-hyung] Nam-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City, will hold the 5·18 Nam-gu Forum to highlight the civilian massacre incidents at Songam-dong and Hyochon Station, where civilians were brutally killed by summary executions by martial law troops during the May 18, 1980 Democratization Movement.
Nam-gu announced on the 3rd, "We have prepared the '2022 5·18 Nam-gu Forum' as a platform to inform residents of the results of oral history recordings and literature investigations regarding the victims of the civilian massacres in the Songam-dong and Hyochon Station areas, and to inherit and develop the spirit of May Gwangju."
Since last year, Nam-gu has been conducting oral and literature investigations on the Songam-dong and Hyochon Station civilian massacre incidents for verification purposes, and plans to reveal the final report, which is the outcome of the civilian massacre incident that occurred in the Songam-dong area between May 18 and 27, 1980, at the forum.
The 2022 5·18 Nam-gu Forum will be held on the 11th at 2 p.m. in the large conference room on the 8th floor of the district office, chaired by Choi Young-tae, Professor Emeritus of the Department of History at Chonnam National University.
Presenters include Jeon Yong-ho, a specialist committee member of the 5·18 Democratization Movement Truth Investigation Committee, and Noh Young-gi, associate professor of the Department of Liberal Arts at Chosun University. Discussants include Yoo Kyung-nam, a full-time researcher at the 5·18 Research Institute of Chonnam National University, and Park Jin-woo, research director of the 5·18 Memorial Foundation.
Specialist Jeon Yong-ho and Associate Professor Noh Young-gi will present the results of oral history recordings and literature investigations on the Songam-dong and Hyochon Station civilian massacres, focusing on the brutal actions of the martial law troops against the residents of Songam-dong.
In particular, the oral materials remembered by survivors vividly depict the martial law troops, who were responsible for sealing off the outskirts, indiscriminately firing on buses and vehicles in the Songam-dong and Hyochon Station areas at that time.
Additionally, when internal casualties occurred due to friendly fire between the Sangmu-dae prison troops and airborne units of the martial law forces, the troops vented their anger by searching nearby villages around Songam-dong, during which they detained villagers and carried out summary executions, which is recorded in detail.
A Nam-gu official stated, "The Songam-dong civilian victim incident, despite being an event caused by state violence, has received relatively little attention. Re-examining this incident and the final report to be disclosed on this day, which clearly organizes the list of victims and a timeline of events, is a highly significant resource."
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