On May 20, May organizations strongly criticized the visit of the late former President Roh Tae Woo's family to the National May 18 Democratic Cemetery, calling it a "verbal apology only" and urging them to "stop their hypocritical behavior."
The May 18 Memorial Foundation and the three May 18 organizations established by law (the Bereaved Families Association, the Meritorious Persons Association, and the Injured Persons Association) issued a statement on this day, saying, "On May 19, Roh's wife Kim Oksook and son Roh Jaeheon made an unannounced, secret visit to the National May 18 Democratic Cemetery without anyone knowing." The organizations stated, "Every time the Roh Tae Woo family acts in secret, it raises doubts about their sincerity."
The organizations asked, "To whom is the Roh Tae Woo family apologizing? The victims of May 18 and the citizens of Gwangju have never directly or officially received an apology from them." They further pointed out, "In his memoir, Roh Tae Woo referred to the May 18 Democratization Movement as the 'Gwangju Incident' and described the responsibility for the bloody crackdown with the incorrect claim that 'citizens attacked the armory after hearing the rumor that soldiers from Gyeongsang Province had come to wipe out the people of Gwangju.'"
The organizations continued, "May organizations have continuously demanded corrections and deletions of these statements, but both in the past and during his visit to Gwangju yesterday, Roh Jaeheon has repeatedly made only verbal statements without taking action." They added, "Recently, they even published a children's biography glorifying Roh Tae Woo for young readers."
They also stated, "The Roh Tae Woo family should dismantle the Roh Tae Woo Center and halt the ongoing research, educational, and commemorative projects." They concluded, "They must offer a sincere apology and cooperate in establishing the truth of history."
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