<Anchor> The



Ministry of National Defense has changed 22 martial law soldiers who died during the May 18 Democratization Movement from'warriors' to'death workers'.

It corrects the record of'warriors' that came out while watching May 18 Gwangju as a riot or rebellion.

The phrase'warrior in Gwangju' engraved on these tombstones is also changed to'Soonjik'.



This is reporter Hak-Hwi Kim.



<Reporter>



'May 1980, a warrior in Gwangju' There are 22 tombs with this phrase inscribed at the Seoul National Cemetery.



These are the graves of soldiers who died during the May 18 Democratization Movement as martial law forces who were put into force in a civil repression operation.



The Ministry of Defense has changed them from dead to dead in 40 years.



According to this decision, the phrase'Gwangju to Warrior' inscribed on the tombstone will change to'Gwangju to Shun-Jik'.



In 1980, the military recorded these as dead, saying that they were'deaths due to armed riots and rebellion suppression'.



However, after the Supreme Court ruling in 1997 that "May 18 is not a civil war, but a legitimate act to protect the constitutional order," this logic was broken.



[Jojintae / May 18 Memorial Foundation Executive Director: I have got in late, but the Pentagon, say it is called 'transfer' gonna watch that had the citizens of Gwangju it right is significant in that -



in addition, right in the mob total deaths, etc. The related reports that were recorded were also deleted and corrected with the exact details of death, such as misleading shootings between rioters.



It is part of the straightforward military-level history, including an apology from the Secretary of Defense and the Chief of Staff of the Army.



[Nam Young-shin/Army Chief of Staff (Last October, State Audit): Dear citizens of Gwangju, I am very sorry.] The



May 18-related organizations welcome this move and reiterated that the Ministry of National Defense will actively cooperate with the ongoing investigation. Requested.



(Video coverage: Lee Jae-young, video editing: So Ji-hye)