hankyoreh

South Korean President Moon Jae-in greets a surviving family member of a victim of the Gwangju Democratization Movement during a ceremony commemorating the movement’s 40th anniversary on May 18. (Yonhap News)

Amendments to the Special Act on the May 18 Democratization Movement that the Democratic Party plans to adopt as a platform include a three-year extension to the investigation committee’s activities and the broadening of their scope to include sexual assault by martial law forces, it has been confirmed. Also included are provisions for sternly punishing acts of disseminating false information in order to prevent distortions of the historical record concerning the May 1980 movement.

On Oct. 19, the Hankyoreh acquired a draft version of the amendment sponsored by lawmaker Lee Hyung-seok, which includes a new provision (Article 8) on punishments for historical distortions. Its key terms include punishments of up to seven years in prison and 70 million won (US$61,411) in fines for acts of slandering, distorting, or fabricating information about the May 18 Democratization Movement or spreading falsehoods through the press, exhibitions, performances, debates, roundtable discussions, press conferences, and other settings. In recognition of concerns about potential violations of freedom of expression, it also includes exceptions waiving punishment in cases where the purpose is for art, academic research, and reporting on current events and the progression of history.

Another amendment to be sponsored by fellow Democratic Party lawmaker Sul Hoon spells out a broader scope of investigation committee activities. The list of investigation areas is to be expanded from seven to 12, with one of the newly included areas to concern incidents of sexual assault by martial law forces. Also explicitly listed were incidents of human rights infringements requiring investigation, including allegations of shots fired by the military from helicopters and the placement of fighter aircraft on standby, massacres of civilians by the military, and acts of suppression against victims of state violence.

The committee’s activity period and the terms of its chairperson and members are to be extended from two to three years in order to reflect the newly added allegations to be investigated and the large volume of investigations to be performed by the committee. The committee’s activity period may be extended twice a year. Also to be instituted are fines for failure to comply with the committee’s accompanying orders without legitimate grounds. The Democratic Party plans to pass the amendments during the current regular session of the National Assembly after completing its party platform procedures.

By Noh Ji-won, staff reporter

Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]