Controversy erupted this week over a photo showing former dictator Chun Doo-hwan presiding over a military parade, returning a salute from a guard of honor at the Korea Military Academy (KMA). The image of Chun spread virally across Twitter and other SNSs, outraging netizens. He shocked Internet users, for the KMA is a prestigious institution recognized for its strict regime, patriotism, and morale, whereas Chun is remembered for his responsibility in ordering the Gwangju Massacre.
From Daum:
Grand-daughter’s ‘super luxurious wedding’ followed by honor guard reception… Twitter users say world is going ‘topsy-turvy’
Critical reaction to the news that the ex-dictator Chun Doo-hwan over his granddaughter’s super luxurious wedding, closely followed by the news that he was received by the honor guard is spreading fast across the social network world.
When the news that Chun was saluted by the officers in Korea Military Academy (KMA) and inspected the honor guard for the event celebrating the fundraising 20 billion won ($17 million USD) surfaced, the move was widely criticized by the netizens. Also present in the ceremony were other key members of the 5th Republic, including the ex-chief of the Agency for National Security Planning Jang Se-dong, ex-Defense Security Commander Lee Hak-bong, ex-Minister of Interior Jung Ho-yong, ex-Joint Chief of Staff Goh Myung-sung.
The Twittersphere was heavily critical of the honor guard ceremony that Chun received saying it was ‘mind-blowing’. One Twitter user (@breez****) wrote ‘What country in the world gives honor guard ceremonies to a coup d’etat thug? This is really something.’ @cysh*** wrote ‘He got to inspect the honor guard because he is an alumnus of the Korea Military Academy or because he was an ex-president? This move insults the nation as well as the officers at KMA.’
Another Twitter user (@sang*****) wrote in exasperation that ‘he called himself a Great Leader, and now he is flexing his muscle in hope of staging a comeback? This is a topsy-turvy world we live in.’
This latest scandal came after the news that Chun’s grand-daughter held a luxurious several hundred-thousands won wedding at the Shilla Hotel [one of Korea’s top hotels]. The wedding hall at Shilla Hotel is often used by the top celebrities in South Korea, including Jang Dong-gun/Ko So-young and Jun Ji-hyun.
Comments from Daum:
에지:
Wow FUCK I am commenting totally out of spite. Fuck are you kidding me? This is completely outrageous. Who invited him? He gets fucking saluted? For a death-row convict? This is one fucking scummy-country, hail-the-fucking-ROK moment. Ah I can just swear on and on.
정당:
This means the KMA supports the head of the treason? Totally nuts.
김홍도:
I hate North Korean sympathizers and the Unified Progressive Party ought to be reformed… but that (conservative) side is equally unlikable. Saenuri and the treasonous group… what should we call them? Like a dog…. dog world this is.
에딘제코:
Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun‘s biggest mistake is not having so much as touched Chun’s hair during their tenure. I hope next administration will fix that.
레이스몰:
I thought this was an old footage, fuck. This is what became of our country. Does this even make sense?
바보와 천재의 공존:
We should be able to say Kim Jung-il is a SOB and likewise we should be able to say Chun Doo-hwan is a fucker. Arrest those KMA officers who saluted that murderous dictator as co-conspirators.
피터팬:
If the 5th Republic with Chun Doo-hwan as the president comes back again, the average citizens and middle-class will be welcoming with open arms.. If you were manual laborer, you made over 1 million won ($850 USD) a month.. Students go on protests and they can still find jobs afterward. We all fondly remember our parents returning home with a bag of fresh fruits… Now even the riches cannot afford fruits.. Those who vilify him as devil are only one group – the democratic activists… They screwed this country and killed off the middle class while profiting from our downfall.
전문가:
Those involved in this ceremony, including the principle of KMA… and all those who saluted him….. Arrest them for violating the National Security Act….. Officially saluting the treasonous scum…. If this is not a treason, what is???
실버몬드:
The guy once on death row is still in power, the presidential candidates still visit him to receive his grace, dirty past still with us. What will our children learn from this? We have no justice to speak of, and we should entertain none.
완시기:
We badmouth our president as if he is a random dog in town, so what does that make us? Our moral education really blows. Foreigners leave this country now.
로기짱:
It is not enough to eviscerate him and now this~~~ This is nuts, this stinks to high heaven
티거:
Oh the state of the world we live in. After the Rat [referring to the current President], it has really hit the bottom. Chun Doo-hwan’s message to KMA officers ‘Stage a military coup and you too could become a president’
인랑:
Someone please cut his head off.. Oh why did Kim Dae-jung pardon him… Such a big mistake..
