The Korea Herald

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[Letter to Editor] A response to Chun’s memoirs

By Korea Herald

Published : May 8, 2017 - 17:38

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I would like to respond to some assertions made by Chun Doo-hwan about my father.

My name is Christopher Peterson. I am the youngest son of Arnold A. Peterson. Also known as Peh Teh Son. He is the author of the book “5-18 The Kwangju Incident.”

Recently, former president Chun Doo-hwan libeled my father in his memoirs. He says that my father was a liar in regards to his account of the Gwangju Incident. He called him “Satan in the guise of a cleric.” My father’s testimony during congressional hearings into Chun and Roh Tae-woo’s crimes against the Republic of Korea helped to shine a light on some of the worst atrocities that were committed in May of 1980. My father, an individual with no stake in Korean politics, who had left Korea five years before the hearings, and who could have lived the rest of his life with no involvement in Korea, willingly came back to Korea to shed light on what happened. He helped to corroborate crimes that had been previously dismissed as being unlikely to be true.

I would like to write an open letter to Mr. Chun.

I would like to thank him.

My family was worried that my father might fade away into the background.

We were worried that people might forget the contribution he made to bringing Mr. Chun and Mr. Roh to justice.

By calling my father out in his memoirs, Mr. Chun has guaranteed my father’s place in Korean history.

His name will not be forgotten.

I would like the opportunity to publicly let Mr. Chun know that, in his desire to libel my father’s good name, he has actually guaranteed that the Peterson name will not be forgotten.

I also want to congratulate Mr. Chun on his total lack of “gibun.” The fact that he waited until after my father had passed away to try and soil his good name.

Only a craven coward and a man with no conscience or decency would wait to say such things about someone until after they are no longer around to respond.

I would like to respond to Mr. Chun.

My father was a good man who loved the Korean people and the people of Gwangju especially.

When the Devil calls you Satan, you must have done something right with your life.


From Christopher Danton Peterson
(sinfonian94@gmail.com)