"I Wish I Had Never Been Born": Chun Doo-hwan's Grandson Floods SNS on Christmas Night

Continued SNS Activity After Suspended Sentence for Drug Charges
Childhood Photos, May 18 Tragedy, and Records of Apology Also Shared

Jeon Woo-won, the grandson of the late former President Chun Doo-hwan, who received a suspended prison sentence for habitual drug use, posted a series of messages on his social networking service (SNS) account on Christmas night, releasing several posts at intervals. The first post included a short video of himself as a child, smiling in his mother's arms. In contrast to the scene of the child brightly calling out "Mom" and smiling, Jeon added the message, "I wish I had never been born."

A photo of Jeon Woo-won taken with his grandfather, former President Jeon Du-hwan, during his childhood. Instagram

On the 25th, Jeon uploaded a total of 23 posts in succession to his Instagram account. The posts included childhood photos of him holding hands with former President Chun while wearing traditional Korean attire, pictures with his grandmother Lee Soon-ja, and a TV screen image showing him in his grandfather's arms. Along with videos from his childhood, he also left the phrase, "I wish I had never been born."

Jeon also posted photos related to the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement. He shared pictures of himself dining and smiling with the family of the late activist Moon Jae-hak, writing, "I sincerely thank you for accepting someone like me with love." Previously, in March 2023, Jeon had visited the National May 18 Democratic Cemetery in Unjeong-dong, Buk-gu, Gwangju, paid respects at Moon's grave, and apologized to his family. He also released photos taken with Nam Kyung-pil, former Gyeonggi Province Governor and current head of the drug prevention and rehabilitation organization "Eungu," stating, "You stood like a beacon during the times when I could see nothing."

That day, Jeon continued to serialize a webtoon based on his childhood. Since December 4, he has released 12 episodes of a webtoon, apparently created using artificial intelligence (AI), on Instagram. In the webtoon, Jeon depicts himself as a white sheep named "Monggeuli," while the Chun family is portrayed as sheep with black horns, illustrating his experiences with domestic violence, abuse, and bullying during his school years. This webtoon was made private on December 18 but was made public again after about a week.

Meanwhile, in December 2023, Jeon was sentenced to two years and six months in prison, suspended for four years, on charges of drug use. Since then, he has shared updates about his activities at a drug addiction prevention center. Even after that, Jeon publicly disclosed his drug use in 2023 and openly criticized his family. In the same year, he visited Gwangju to apologize to victims and families of the May 18 Democratization Movement and paid respects at the National May 18 Democratic Cemetery.