◀ anchor ▶
Yesterday, when Chun Doo-hwan, the chief officer of the 5.18 Gwangju Massacre, died, on 5.18, Lee Kwang-young, who had endured 40 years of suffering rather than living even though he survived, was found with his own life organized in a reservoir in his hometown.
He is also a witness to the history of witnessing and testifying to the martial law forces’ helicopter shooting, as the bullets shot through his spine and he was unable to walk again.
Before his death, he left a suicide note saying, “I will only suffer from pain, and in the end, I will lose.” What he wanted during his lifetime was the truth of 5/18 and an apology from the person in charge.
Perhaps, the pain that he complained about in his will was nurtured by the intuition that the ‘truth’ of 5.18 is getting blurry and the ‘apology’ is getting farther away.
Chun Doo-hwan can no longer apologize.
So, I hope that those around him who are still shameless, saying that he has already made an apology that no one has heard of, keep their mouths shut.
Reporter Yang Jeong-eun conveys the obituary of the late Lee Kwang-young, the 5.18 victim.
◀ Report ▶
A reservoir in Gundong-myeon, Gangjin-gun, Jeollanam-do.
May 18, 68-year-old Lee Kwang-young, a national meritorious person, was found dead at around 4 pm yesterday.
Mr. Lee left a will at his home in Iksan, Jeollabuk-do the day before and left the house to search for the police.
[이은호 / 강진경찰서 생활안전과장]
“It was confirmed that the vehicle passed through the CCTV 5 km ahead of the accident point.
In his will to his family, Mr. Lee said, “I don’t want to have any grudges on May 18, but I’m so relieved that I have asked all my small regrets.”
Lee, who was a monk, witnessed the atrocities of martial law forces in Gwangju in 1980 and took part in evacuating wounded civilians to the hospital.
Then, he himself suffered a gunshot wound to the spine and paralyzed the lower body, and suffered pain injections several times a day for the next 40 years.
Nevertheless, Lee appeared as a witness in the hearings of the Gwangju Special Committee of the National Assembly and the trial related to Chun Doo-hwan, and vividly testified of the helicopter shooting at the time of May 18th.
[故 이광영씨 / 1989년 국회 광주 특위 청문회]
“The helicopter came saying ‘Darara’. Then all of a sudden, the gun just ‘dazzled’ and opened fire. Yes, just next to him, sparks of asphalt were ‘tatata’. There’s no time to run away from driving, so there’s a helicopter right above it. So I hide under the street first. Yes, the leaves of the street tree fell down. I was passing by, but a girl was shot and fell down.”
Mr. Lee, who had been making a living in extreme pain, finally left Gwangju about 10 years ago.
[故 이광영 씨 지인]
“He was very ill, and he lived in Bonghwa, Gyeongsangbuk-do, and lived alone (while receiving medical care). Because his health was not getting better, he also came down to Iksan…”
But the pain did not let Lee go.
I could not even hear the apology of Mr. Chun Doo-hwan, who was in charge of 5.18, whom I had so much wanted.
In the end, Mr. Lee Kwang-young left his eyes in his hometown just a few hours before the death of Mr. Jeon, leaving a message that he wanted to go to his father.
Like Mr. Lee, there have been about 40 people of 5.18 merit who suffered from suffering after 5.18 and made extreme choices.
This is Yang Jeong-eun from MBC News.
Video coverage: Hong Kyung-seok / Mokpo
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