Ex-President Chun fails to show at libel trial, saying he has Alzheimer’s
Social affairsAug 27, 2018
Former President Chun Doo-hwan, accused of defaming a late Roman Catholic priest over a military crackdown during the 1980 pro-democracy uprising in Gwangju, did not show up in a Gwangju court Monday for the first day of his trial, saying he has Alzheimer’s and cannot travel as far as Gwangju due to his age. Prosecutors had indicted Chun in May on libel charges concerning the priest Cho Chul-hyun, who said he had seen the military, led by then-President Chun, firing at civilians from helicopters