MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th November, 2020) A South Korean court on Monday found ex-President Chun Doo-hwan guilty of defaming a late pro-democracy activist, who had witnessed Chun's forces shooting at anti-government protesters in the city of Gwangju in 1980, the Yonhap News Agency reported, adding that the politician was given a suspended eight-month jail term.
According to the media outlet, the Gwangju District Court upheld the testimonies of late Catholic priest and activist Cho Pius about shootings at civilians from helicopters during the 1980 Gwangju uprising. The court sentenced Chun to eight months in prison, suspended for two years.
"Given the defendant's position and his actions during the May 18 uprising, he must have been aware of the shootings from helicopters," Judge Kim Jung-hoon said during the sentencing, as quoted by the news agency.
Chun, who ran the country between 1980 and 1988, was sentenced to death in 1996 for mutiny, corruption and treason over his role in the Gwangju massacre when more than 600 people were killed in an uprising. He was later pardoned by then-President Kim Young-sam. His successor, Roh Tae-woo, who served as the country's president between 1988 and 1993, was convicted of the same charges and was sentenced to 17 years in jail but was also later pardoned.
