Punishment of 1979 coup leader Chun Doo Hwan foreshadows Yoon's potential fate

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Punishment of 1979 coup leader Chun Doo Hwan foreshadows Yoon's potential fate

Published: 11 Dec. 2024, 18:44 Updated: 11 Dec. 2024, 19:30

LEE SOO-JUNG
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Late presidents, Roh Tae-woo, left and Chun Doo Hwan stand in a courtroom in Seoul in 1996 to receive their first ruling on a military coup that helped them seize state power in 1979. [JOONGANG PHOTO]

Prosecutors named President Yoon Suk Yeol an “insurrection ringleader” in an arrest warrant filing against ex-Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun. The legal reasoning was identical to the verdict against late President Chun Doo Hwan, who seized power through a military coup in December 1979 and expanded martial law across the nation on May 17, 1980.

In 1996, the Seoul High Court sentenced Chun to life in prison on charges of leading an insurrection and mutiny. The appellate court also handed down a 17-year prison sentence to another late president, Roh Tae-woo, who plotted and participated in the insurrection. The Supreme Court upheld the ruling in April 1997.

Chun, a major general at the time, led the coup in 1979, and Roh, as an Army division commander, assisted it by mobilizing forces under his command.

Chun and Roh maintained close political ties throughout their careers. Chun was president between 1980 and 1988, and Roh served from 1988 to 1993.

The 1996 verdict is an unprecedented case where Korea’s former presidents were indicted and convicted on charges of treason. Of the 16 defendants in the case, the court found Chun the sole leader of the insurrection.

Korea’s Criminal Act places those involved in insurrection into three categories: ringleaders, key personnel in plotting or commanding an insurrection, and those who merely participated in such acts per orders from their superiors.

History repeats

President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks at his office in Yongsan District, central Seoul in May. [PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE]

On Monday, the special investigation bureau at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office applied the first and heaviest category to Yoon, referring to him as a "ringleader" of the insurrection. Ex-Defense Minister Kim’s charges reportedly belong in the second tier, meaning he served a critical role in the insurrection.

In 1996 and 1997, the Seoul High Court and Supreme Court acknowledged that the defendants “shared their goals of violating the Constitution by preparing a scenario where they could seize state power through military force and plotting specific and phased action plans.”

The courts said an insurrection can be interpreted as "a crime where multiple people form a group and violate the Constitution through an organized treasonous act” under the guidance of a ringleader. Those involved in insurrection receive lighter or heavier punishment depending on their degree of participation.

The two courts believed Chun and his collaborators organized a group for an insurrection. The judiciary also recognized that the defendants committed insurrection by implementing martial law nationwide and mobilizing martial law forces based on their scenario.

All actions matter

CCTV footage shows armored forces entering the National Assembly after martial law was imposed by President Yoon Suk Yeol on the evening of Dec. 3. [NATIONAL ASSEMBLY SECRETARIAT]

The judiciary ruled that the nationwide imposition of martial law on May 17, 1980, constituted an “insurrection.”

In the early hours of May 18, 1980, a martial law decree was announced, and martial law forces occupied the National Assembly and blocked lawmakers from accessing it until late August — preventing the convention of parliamentary sessions.

The soldiers also arrested Kim Dae-jung, a liberal political figure who was later elected as the 15th president, Kim Jong-pil, a two-time prime minister who founded Korea's national intelligence service, and several other politicians without warrants.

In late October 1980, Chun’s junta disbanded the National Assembly and usurped administrative control by instituting an emergency committee for national security measures. Chun also suppressed civil protests in Gwangju using airborne troops and silenced the press by merging and shutting down media outlets.

Although the defendants claimed they did not intend to harm the Constitution, the judiciary ruled that their actions after May 17 were designed to subvert it.

“It is equivalent to destroying the constitutional institution [referring to the National Assembly] by force,” the judiciary noted.

The judges defined their actions as “an orchestrated and premeditated riot to achieve the goal of harming the Constitution,” adding it was not an “impulsive action.”

Leader and followers

Military officers who were allegedly involved in martial law imposition by President Yoon Suk Yeol attend a parliamentary questioning at the National Assembly in western Seoul on Tuesday. [JEON MIN-KYU]

Concluding Chun was the leader of the insurrection and mutiny, the judiciary ruled that the then-defense minister, head of Korea Military Academy, head of the Army Special Warfare Command, the martial law commander and other senior military commanders were participants in the insurrection.

The judiciary noted that the position reshuffle in the military after the 1979 coup was “preparation and plotting for an insurrection by seizing command authority in the military.” The convicted high-ranking military officers received new duties after the 1979 coup. In particular, Roh was named the commander of the Capital Defense Command.

The defendants, who were active-duty soldiers, claimed that they “merely followed orders from their superiors and did not partake in key actions.” They also argued that they had deemed the instructions as “legitimate,” citing strict hierarchy in the military.

However, the judiciary also ruled that “anyone who participated in insurrection should be held responsible regardless of their recognition of the entire course of the insurrection.” It added that the soldiers “had enough time to discern right and wrong and not put the orders into action.”

The 1996 ruling leaves the possibility that those involved in the Dec. 3 martial law imposition could be punished, despite their denial of prior knowledge of the martial law plan.

Ex-Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun said he advised Yoon to declare martial law and ordered the entry of martial law forces into the parliament. The Seoul Central District Court issued his arrest warrant on Wednesday.

BY KIM JEONG-YEON, LEE SOO-JUNG [[email protected]]