Former Army Chief of Staff Chung Seung-hwa being forcibly taken away from his official residence by the new military group and heading to be interrogated during the December 12 military insurrection in 1979.

Vehicles carrying investigators from the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) wait at the entrance of the presidential residence in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, on January 3, 2025, to execute an arrest warrant for President Yoon Suk Yeol. [Photo=Yonhap News]

It is the Lee Jae-myung regime and Democratic Party supporters who have confusingly inverted and distorted the history of the December 12 and May 18 events. How is the Lee Jae-myung regime’s "Special Counsel on Insurrection" any different from the new military group of 1979? 

“On this day, the special counsel summoned former Army Headquarters Legal Affairs Office Chief Kim Sang-hwan as a suspect to investigate charges of attempted participation in a key mission of insurrection. Former Chief Kim is accused of boarding a group bus bound for Seoul from the Gyeryongdae Army Headquarters to organize the Martial Law Command on the day martial law was declared.” (Disciplinary Action Report for High-Ranking Officers involved in the December 3 Emergency Martial Law: Editor’s Note)

We live in a world where simply boarding a group bus makes one a suspect. If that is the case, let us re-examine the actions of Chief of Staff Chung Seung-hwa on the day of October 26, 1979, using the same standards. 

Around 16:00: Kim Jae-gyu calls and invites him to dinner in three hours, at 7 PM. Chief Chung accepts immediately.

19:00: Kim Jae-gyu does not show up at the meeting place; instead, Kim Jeong-seop, the Assistant Deputy Director of the KCIA, appears and dines with him.

19:10: Kim Jae-gyu stops by briefly in his shirt sleeves and asks for understanding for his absence.

19:45: A series of gunshots ring out nearby. The shots are heard from just a few hundred meters away.

“I told Mr. Kim Jeong-seop, ‘That sounds like gunfire!’ He said, ‘Understood,’ and jumped up to check, returning to say, ‘I’ve contacted the local police station to check and report back. It’s probably nothing.’ Since the area where the shots were fired was right on the outskirts of the Blue House security area—a place known to all in the Presidential Security Service to be under heavy guard—I didn’t think much of it, assuming it must have been the security team. Since he said he would look into it, I took him at his word and continued eating.” - Testimony of Chung Seung-hwa to the May 18 Investigation Committee

Despite clearly hearing the gunfire, Chief Chung calmly continued his meal. While drinking dessert wine, Kim Jae-gyu urgently sought out the Chief. He was in such a rush that he was drinking water directly from a pitcher’s spout, an abnormal sight.

“I asked, ‘What is going on?’ He replied, ‘Let’s talk while we ride in the car,’ so we got into the vehicle together.” - Testimony of Chung Seung-hwa to the May 18 Investigation Committee

Kim Jae-gyu was even wearing socks without his shoes. Anyone would have found it suspicious, yet they rode together. During the drive, he learned directly of the president’s death.

“He raised his thumb and said, ‘This gentleman has passed away.’ I was shocked and asked, ‘How did he die?’ and he said he was shot. I asked, ‘Who did it?’ and he replied that he was ‘too flustered to know.’” - Testimony of Chung Seung-hwa to the May 18 Investigation Committee

Chief Chung headed to the Army Headquarters with Kim Jae-gyu. After directing Kim to the Chief of Staff’s office, he went to the situation room to take emergency measures following the president’s death.

An emergency Cabinet meeting was held at the Ministry of National Defense. At this meeting, Kim Jae-gyu strongly demanded the declaration of martial law and argued for over two hours, while Cabinet members countered that they must verify the body personally.

“He insisted for a long time that he could not disclose the details but that we must declare martial law; we argued for a long time before finally acknowledging it. But then I thought the acknowledgment itself couldn't be trusted, so I said, ‘In that case, let’s verify it.’ Kim Jae-gyu was so insistent... so we went to the integrated hospital to verify it.” - Testimony of Shin Hyon-hwak to the May 18 Investigation Committee

Around 23:30: As the martial law declaration was delayed, Chief Presidential Secretary Kim Gye-won summoned Chief of Staff Chung Seung-hwa and Defense Minister No Jae-hyun to finally reveal the truth.

“Defense Minister No Jae-hyun came out and joined our group, and as soon as the three of us sat down, Mr. Kim Gye-won said, ‘The culprit is Kim Jae-gyu!’” - Testimony of Chung Seung-hwa to the May 18 Investigation Committee

Kim Jae-gyu was not arrested until four hours after the incident. During those four hours, Kim Jae-gyu had been shouting and pushing his agenda at the emergency Cabinet meeting, and effectively, Chung Seung-hwa had bought him time. Kim Jae-gyu had intended to make Chung Seung-hwa the Martial Law Commander. That is not all. On the day of December 12, Chung Seung-hwa revealed he had received 3 million won from Kim Jae-gyu.

“He said, ‘Chief, a situation has arisen where we need your testimony regarding the Kim Jae-gyu case. So I came. I need to record this.’ I asked, ‘What is it about?’ and he said, ‘Didn’t you receive money?’ I replied, ‘Chief, you received a lot of money.’ So I said, ‘Yes! I did receive 3 million won; is that what this is about?’ Then I asked, ‘So, did you bring recording equipment?’ and he said, ‘You need to come to where the recorder is set up.’” - Testimony of Chung Seung-hwa to the May 18 Investigation Committee

The current standard is that merely riding a group bus makes you a suspect for insurrection. If we apply the same yardstick, shouldn’t Chief of Staff Chung Seung-hwa—who rode in the same car as the power player who assassinated the president, delayed his arrest, and even received money—also be considered a suspect? Can we label the arrest of Chung Seung-hwa a coup by 2026 standards? 

We are in a situation of extreme moral confusion. This is because every standard of common sense and the rule of law has been overturned. Aren’t Lee Jae-myung and his Democratic Party supporters, who manipulate the scales of justice according to their own political interests, the true successors of Chun Doo-hwan?

◆ Author Kim Sung-min

Digital creator, coastal resident, and early-morning cyclist.