hankyoreh

Former South Korean President Chun Doo-hwan at a golf course in Gangwon Province on Nov. 7. (provided by Justice Party Vice President Lim Han-sol)

Former South Korean President Chun Doo-hwan skipped court appearances in his defamation trial, citing health problems, but newly released video footage shows him golfing. The footage follows witness testimonies of Chun at a golf course this past December.

In May 2018, Chun was indicted for defaming late priest Cho Cheol-hyeon (also known as Cho Pius) while denying the priest’s claim to have seen government troops in helicopters opening fire on demonstrators during the Gwangju Democratization Movement in 1980.

On Nov. 7, Lim Han-sol, vice president of the Justice Party, released footage of Chun playing golf at a golf course in Hongcheon, Gangwon Province. Several people have reported that Chun visits this golf course regularly, on the first Thursday of every month.

Shortly before the first hearing in Chun’s defamation case, scheduled for Aug. 27, 2018, Chun’s wife, Lee Sun-ja, announced that he would not attend the hearing because he was dealing with Alzheimer’s disease. Chun also failed to appear at a hearing on Jan. 7, that time because of a “bad flu.”

But Chun had actually been playing golf around the same time, as the Hankyoreh reported in January.

On Mar. 11, Chun visited Gwangju to make his single appearance in the dock at the Gwangju District Court. It was his first visit to the city in 32 years. Gwangju was scarred by a military massacre of civilian demonstrators during Chun’s presidency.

The footage released by Lim shows Chun, in apparent good health, swinging a golf club and freely engaging in conversation.

When Lim asked Chun whether he feels any responsibility for using force to suppress the Gwangju movement, he said, “What does Gwangju have to do with me? I wasn’t in a position to give orders to open fire. How could I have given such an order, considering I didn’t have the authority to give orders to the military?”

Chun responded to another question about his outstanding taxes and fines, which exceed 100 billion won (US$86.45 million), by suggesting that he doesn’t mean to pay. “Why don’t you pay some of them?” he told Lim.

“At 9:23 this morning, Chun departed from his residence in Seoul’s Yeonhui neighborhood escorted by a security vehicle. After reaching the golf course, Chun began playing golf at 11:45 am with Lee Sun-ja, a person who was presumably the head of the golf course, and other attendants,” Lim told the Hankyoreh.

By Yi Ju-been, staff reporter

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