Late police chief’s memo unveils who disobeyed military junta

A police chief who was tortured to death after refusing to open fire at demonstrators during the 1980 pro-democracy movement in Gwangju wrote shortly afterward of his dismay at not doing more, it has been revealed. 

In a note revealed to the public for the first time Thursday, 30 years after his death, Ahn Byung-ha wrote he was “very sorry for not having been able to protect more civilian lives (during the uprising).”

Ahn served as chief of police in South Jeolla Province from 1979. He was removed from the position a few days after the uprising ended on May 27, when the military junta discovered that Ahn had disobeyed the order to suppress the uprising by opening fire on civilians on May 24.

Ahn was immediately taken to a military base where he was tortured. He died eight years later from the multiple injuries he sustained during the torture.

During Wednesday’s press conference held by Ahn’s family and May 18 Democratization Movement Archives, Ahn’s memo, which he wrote after the uprising and passed on to his wife Chun Lim-soon, was disclosed to the media. In it, he wrote, “It is heartbreaking to know that so many deaths occurred in Gwangju although we did our best to prevent them, and I’m truly sorry.”

Also in the memo, Ahn pointed to “the military government’s violent and massive crackdown on civilians” as the cause of the May 18 uprising.

The military crackdown on pro-democracy protesters left some 200 people dead and 1,000 more wounded, according to the archive. Some estimates put the death toll at as high as 2,000.

Documents related to the pro-democracy uprising was inscribed on the UNESCO Memory of the World Register in 2011.

“My father lost everything in 1980 to protect citizens in Gwangju and keep his honor as a public official,” Ahn’s son Ahn Ho-jae told reporters during the conference. “Last year, some 37 years after he was forced out of office, President Moon Jae-in restored his honor (by promoting him to Senior Superintendent General), so I would like to express our sincere gratitude to the president on behalf of my family,” the son said.

Ahn’s memo and other items were donated to the Archive for public display.

By Bak Se-hwan (sh@heraldcorp.com)