SEOUL, May 19 (UPI) — A conservative South Korean politician charged with creating falsified documents that framed pro-democracy activists as North Korean spies was caught in a scuffle outside a courthouse Thursday.
Jee Man-won, charged with faking evidence and alleging activists of the May 18, 1980 Gwangju Uprising were members of the North Korean army’s special forces, was confronted by Gwangju residents in Seoul, South Korean news service Money Today reported.
About 30 people representing surviving activists shouted at Jee as he arrived at court and began shouting and condemning him for labeling them “communists.”
“How could you frame May 18 [activists] as spies,” they said.
After one protester said, “Catch Jee Man-won,” Jee and a woman who tried to block his path became locked in a struggle. Jee pushed the woman’s face and hurried into the courthouse, according to the report.
A total of five civic organizations, including the May 18 Memorial Foundation, and nine individual plaintiffs, have filed the suit.
Jee had alleged the Gwangju Uprising included the participation of North Korean military personnel. Last August, South Korean priests affiliated with the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Gwangju sued Jee for defamation and for distorting the history of the May 18 pro-democracy movement.
The event was a pro-democracy campaign that was violently suppressed 25 years ago by then-President Chun Doo-hwan, and civic groups in South Korea continue to seek restitution for protesters who were wrongfully imprisoned or detained.
South Korean family members of those who died during the movement say a total of 600 individuals were labeled communist or North Korean spies, local newspaper Hankyoreh reported.
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