South Korea’s former president Chun Doo-hwan claimed that he had never ordered the Army to shoot at protesters during the pro-democracy uprising in Gwnangju in 1980, denying his responsibility for the most violent crackdown in the nation’s modern history.

According to the report published on Tuesday by monthly news magazine Shindonga, the 85-year-old former Army general said in the interview last month that it was “a ridiculous allegation” that he ordered the shooting against the protesters.

“Who could have ordered the shooting against the people (during the protest)? It is so ridiculous,” Chun was quoted as saying. Chun had been found guilty for staging a coup in 1979 and for the brutal repression of protests in May 1980. He was pardoned and freed in 1997. 

He claimed that he was not in a position to order his soldiers to fire shooting during the uprising. “Back then, I was the commander of Security Command who cannot defy the president,” he said. Chun became president in 1980 through an indirect election controlled by the government.

Former first lady Lee Soon-ja supported his claim. “Not over my dead body,” she was quoted as saying when asked whether she would acknowledge Chun’s responsibility. She added that Chun’s accountability for the May 18 uprising does not include involvement with shooting against the civilians.

His aides played down the significance of the controversial interview.

Min Jung-ki, the presidential adviser during Chun’s presidency, said in a statement that Chun’s answer was “unarranged” and that he would reveal his official position through his memoir scheduled to be published next month.

His remark is likely to put a damper on the former president’s attempt to make peace with the victims of the May 18 massacre and liberal activists’ in Gwangju. Last week, Chun’s aides said the former president was seeking to visit the memorial of the May 18 uprising and pay respect to the victims.

But the proposal was dismissed as a “dubious’ maneuver by the victims’ families and ceremony officials. They said that they would not allow the former president to visit the city unless he made an official apology to the People.

By Yeo Jun-suk (jasonyeo@heraldcorp.com)