Banner featured photos and tributes to former presidents

Local authorities rule display exceeded bounds of free expression

A banner featuring former presidents Syngman Rhee, Park Chung-hee and Chun Doo-hwan, posted near Junam Village in Dong-gu, Gwangju. [Newsis]
A banner featuring former presidents Syngman Rhee, Park Chung-hee and Chun Doo-hwan, posted near Junam Village in Dong-gu, Gwangju. [Newsis]

A political party banner promoting the legacy of former President Chun Doo-hwan has been taken down near Junam Village in Gwangju, a site where martial law troops massacred civilians during the May 18 Democratic Uprising, amid public outcry over its display.

According to Yonhap, the banner — posted in the name of the Pro-US Alliance Party near Junam Village in Wolnam-dong — was recently removed.

The banner featured photographs of former presidents Syngman Rhee, Park Chung-hee and Chun Doo-hwan along with tributes to their legacies. Identical banners were also found posted in front of the Gwangju metropolitan government building, in Dongcheon-dong in Seo-gu, and in Suncheon.

Dong-gu authorities received a complaint about the banner bearing Chun's photo near Junam Village and removed it on their own authority, determining that it exceeded the bounds of free expression ordinarily afforded to political parties on matters of policy and public issues.

At the same time, the district submitted a query to the Ministry of Interior and Safety asking whether the banner constituted prohibited advertising on grounds of human rights violations or harm to public morals.

Junam Village is a designated May 18 historic site where martial law troops opened fire on civilians on May 23, 1980.

An investigation by the May 18 Democratization Movement Truth Commission found that 21 civilians were killed in the area by gunfire from the 11th Airborne Brigade. Some of the victims shot aboard a microbus were found to have been shot again at close range to confirm their deaths.

However, Suncheon said it would be legally difficult to remove the banner there, as it met all formal requirements — including the permitted display period and contact information.

In Seo-gu, a similar pattern has been observed: banners are left up until their permitted display period expires, taken down, and then put back up again.


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