[Reporter’s Notebook] Truth and Reconciliation Commission Chair Distorts the Truth

“We are a committee that has nothing to do with the April 3 Incident or the May 18 Democratization Movement.” On the 12th, Kim Gwang-dong, the newly appointed chairman of the 2nd Truth and Reconciliation Commission for Past Affairs (Truth and Reconciliation Commission), stated this when meeting with reporters. He even advised them to read the bill once before asking questions. Although the 1st Truth and Reconciliation Commission investigated the April 3 Incident and the May 18 Democratization Movement, Chairman Kim joined as a standing member from the 2nd term, so he might deliberately pretend not to know. However, his past remarks are somewhat concerning.

Two years ago, in his paper titled “Fascist Control of the State over Historical Awareness,” he criticized the historical distortion prohibition law proposed by the then Democratic Party of Korea, claiming, “The false assertion that 2,000 people were massacred in the Gwangju Incident is tolerated, while suspicions of North Korean involvement are punished as historical distortion or defamation.” He also explained that the helicopter machine gun firing during the May 18 Democratization Movement was clearly false. He viewed the April 3 Incident as a riot by communist forces.

This is not only a problem with modern history. In November 2020, at the “Free Economy Forum Founding General Assembly and Commemoration” held at the National Assembly, he stated regarding the March 1 Movement, “Claiming that about 7,500 people were shot, not 800, is historical distortion.” For reference, the claim that about 7,500 people were shot originates from the book “The Bloodshed History of the Korean Independence Movement” by independence activist Park Eun-sik, which is widely cited in academia. The National Institute of Korean History released data on the 100th anniversary of the March 1 Movement in 2019, estimating about 900 deaths, but noted that this figure was conservatively calculated based on Japanese records.

Chairman Kim seems to have already decided on the correct answers. However, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission is an organization that uncovers the truth from victims of authoritarian regimes who did not leave records for the weak. Since the correct answers are unclear, the process is tedious and difficult. Nevertheless, revealing history and truth is noble. Does he not understand the weight of that nobility? It is difficult to uncover the truth with incorrect answers fixed in one’s mind.