Investigation opened after accusations against former South Korean dictator Chun Doo-hwan
Former South Korean dictator Chun Doo-hwan, in front of the Seoul Court of Justice, February 26, 1996. AP - Yun Jai-hyoung
Text by: RFI Follow
1 min
South Korea is shaken by revelations about former dictator Chun Doo-hwan, in power between 1980 and 1988. A young man, who claims to be his grandson, denounced the crimes of his alleged grandfather as well as his hidden fortune.
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With our correspondent in Seoul, Célio Fioretti
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A mass murderer ». This is how Chun Woo-won describes his alleged grandfather, dictator Chun Doo-hwan. Thursday, March 16, a post on Instagram of the young man, then completely unknown, had the effect of a bomb. The latter claims to be the grandson of the South Korean dictator, responsible in particular for the death of a thousand people during the Gwangju uprising in 1980.
Chun Woo-won, who now lives in the United States, also revealed, with photos, the luxurious life of his family. The dictator – who died in 2021 at the age of 90 – had been sentenced to pay $ 170 million by the South Korean justice. But Chun Doo-hwan said he had only $200 in his pocket and only partially paid his debt. Chun Woo-won says his family lives on dirty money, hidden for years.
The young man, however, seems to be in an unstable emotional state, suffering from depression. On Friday, during a live video on his Instagram account, he said he had used hard drugs and wanted to be punished. He was immediately transferred to the hospital in New York. The South Korean prosecutor's office has nevertheless decided to investigate these revelations.
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- South Korea
- Justice