Defamation Trial

[Anchor Lead]

Former President Chun Doo-hwan has been indicted for defaming the late Father Pio Cho in his memoir. The priest testified to shooting from military helicopters during the May 18th democratic movement in Gwangju. However, the ex-dictator Chun didn’t show up for the first day of the trial, citing the fairness of the court proceedings and his health condition.

[Pkg]

Former President Chun Doo-hwan was indicted for slandering the late Father Pio Cho in his memoir. The Catholic monsignor testified that he had witnessed the shooting from military helicopters during the May 18th democratic movement in Gwangju. The ex-President, however, said that he would not be present at his first trial scheduled for today. Former First Lady Lee Soon-ja stated through a press release yesterday afternoon that she was concerned over the fairness of court proceedings held in Gwangju. She also claimed that it would be hard for Chun to travel all the way to Gwangju and give coherent testimonies, since he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2013. The ex-dictator stated through his attorney that he would attend, but changed his decision only a few hours before the start of his trial. His sudden change of mind confounded the court, which had gone to extraordinary lengths to accommodate the ex-president. Given the nationwide interest in Chun's case, the trial venue was changed to a larger courtroom and 70 police officers were assigned to his security details. Prior to this libel suit, Chun had not shown up for all the civil lawsuits filed by an activist group associated with the May 18th event. The civic group argued that Chun's memoir defamed victims of the democratic movement by claiming that North Korean forces were responsible for the massacre in Gwangju. However, the defamation of the deceased, in this case the late Father Pio Cho, is a felony case, requiring the presence of Chun the defendant.