"Infringement on University Autonomy"
The national agency has determined that the Chun Doo-hwan military regime committed serious human rights violations by criminally punishing Hanshin University (formerly Korea Theological Seminary) students who held protests to uncover the truth about the May 18 Democratic Uprising and forcibly suspending the recruitment of new students.
On the 14th, the 2nd Truth and Reconciliation Commission for the Past Affairs announced at its 95th meeting that it had judged the "Chun Doo-hwan military regime's infringement on university autonomy case (Hanshin University and its students)" as a serious human rights violation and decided to investigate the truth.
In 1980, when students of Korea Theological Seminary held protests on campus to uncover the truth about the May 18 incident, the military regime criminally punished those involved and suspended the recruitment of new students for the theology department for two years. At that time, President Chun Doo-hwan ordered strict measures, and national agencies including the Defense Security Command, the Prime Minister's Office, and the Ministry of Education were fully mobilized.
As a result of this action, the university was unable to operate normal academic affairs and had to temporarily organize and run theological education from 1981 to the following year.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission judged that "the military regime exercised unlawful public authority, infringing on the academic freedom, the right to education, the autonomy of education, and the autonomy of the university guaranteed by the constitution to Hanshin University and its students." It also recommended that the state apologize to Hanshin University and the students and take appropriate measures to restore their honor and compensate for the damages.
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