Visit to May 18 National Cemetery on the 4th Anniversary of the National Joint Declaration
Leading efforts over four years to correct distortions and disparagement of May 18
On the 21st, the Republic of Korea Special Forces Comrades Association visited the May 18 Democratic Cemetery to mark the 4th anniversary of the National Joint Declaration. Courtesy of the Republic of Korea Special Forces Comrades Association.
The Republic of Korea Special Forces Comrades Association visited the May 18 National Cemetery to mark the fourth anniversary of the National Joint Declaration and called for the maximum legal penalties for those who initiated the illegal martial law.
On the 21st, about 20 members of the Republic of Korea Special Forces Comrades Association paid their respects at the May 18 National Cemetery in Buk-gu, Gwangju. Previously, during the illegal martial law of December 3, they had also visited the May 18 National Cemetery to denounce the impropriety of the illegal martial law. At that time, it was the first visit to the cemetery since the founding of the Special Forces in which Special Forces reservist organizations and Marine Corps reservist organizations came together.
The Special Forces Comrades Association stated, "Although Special Forces troops were armed and deployed to constitutional and state institutions during the illegal martial law of December 3, a bloodshed did not occur because the Special Forces reservist organization continuously held events to ask the victims for forgiveness," adding, "By informing junior members about the reckless actions committed by their seniors, who forgot the duties of the armed forces and carried out those acts under unlawful and unjust orders at the time, they were able to prevent a bloody tragedy by using those events as a lesson, which led to rational and reasonable judgment and restrained actions by the troops and their commanders."
They went on to say, "Former President Yoon Suk Yeol, who initiated the illegal martial law of December 3, was the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, and the generals involved plunged the nation into chaos," adding, "They must be tried not in a civilian court but in a military court, and the Military Criminal Act must be applied so that they are inevitably given the maximum sentence."
They added, "Although the National Joint Declaration, which was launched to promote national unity and the greatness of the May 18 Democratization Movement, is being obstructed by certain forces, we will not be discouraged and will continue to work to hold memorial events and to reveal the full truth."
Previously, on February 19, 2023, the Special Forces Comrades Association and organizations established under the Special Act on the May 18 Democratization Movement (the Association for the Injured and the Association for Meritorious Persons) issued a National Joint Declaration.
Since then, the Special Forces Comrades Association has worked to correct the disparagement and distortion of the May 18 Democratization Movement by: reorganizing its website and deleting content that distorts or disparages May 18; advocating for the inclusion of the spirit of the May 18 Democratization Movement in the preamble to the Constitution; visiting the May 18 National Cemetery every year with its members and checking the list of meritorious persons at the Memorial Enshrinement Facility of the May 18 Memorial Foundation; donating 63 blood donation certificates to the Gwangju branch of the Korean Red Cross; and holding testimony events with martial law troops who were deployed during May 18.
Choi Myungyong, who lives in Chuncheon and at the time served as an aide in the intelligence section of the 3rd Airborne Brigade, testified, "At Gwangju Station, the person who gave the order to open fire was then-Brigade Commander Choi Sechang," adding, "Because of Choi Sechang's orders, many people died of suffocation in a secret burial site on the Chonnam National University campus and in vehicles moving from Chonnam National University to the prison."
Ko Sungjun, who lives in Namyangju and at the time was the commander of the 7th area company of the 33rd Battalion of the 7th Airborne Brigade, testified about how the first death occurred on Geumnam-ro, apologized in front of the bereaved family member Lim Geundan, and paid respects at the grave of the late martyr Kim Kyungcheol. He also testified about the massacre in Joo-nam Village and offered an apology in front of victim Hong Geumsuk.
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