A soldier in the airborne troops that was deployed to Gwangju to suppress the May 18 Democratic Uprising met with the bereaved family of a victim and apologized. This was the first time that a soldier approached the family of a victim he personally shot, asking for forgiveness.

On March 17, the May 18 Democratization Movement Truth Commission announced, “A (66), an airborne trooper deployed to suppress the civil unrest at the time of the Gwangju uprising met with the families of Bak Byeong-hyeon, at the May 18th National Cemetery, apologized and asked for forgiveness.”

A kneeled before Bak’s grave in the national cemetery and paid his respects. This day, when A visited the grave, three of Bak’s surviving family members including his siblings joined him. A was the soldier who shot and killed Bak, who was 25 at the time of the pro-democracy uprising.

On May 23, 1980, Bak was leaving Gwangju to go to his hometown, Boseong to help out on the farm, when he died. At the time, the soldiers blocked off transportation when they blocked the outskirts of Gwangju. So Bak and his friend walked by the Nodaenamje reservoir in Nodae-dong to walk to Boseong when they came upon A’s unit.

A, a soldier in the 8th Regional Unit of the 33th Battalion in the 7th Airborne Troops was on patrol. When Bak and his friend fled, A immediately began shooting his M16 rifle. The soldiers in A’s unit buried Bak’s body in a nearby hill and withdrew. Bak’s body was discovered by his family shortly after the uprising on June 2. Bak was buried in his hometown. An autopsy conducted on June 11 confirmed a gunshot wound to his head. Meanwhile, A returned to his unit on May 30 and was later discharged.

In January, the May 18 Democratization Movement Truth Commission, which has been investigating the details of the deaths of all individual citizens at the time of the Gwangju uprising, confirmed that A’s unit had executed an operation where Bak died. When the investigators visited A, he said, “I know that I shot an unarmed man,” and admitted his mistake. In two interviews, A said, “At the time, there was a civilian who ran when we were patrolling the area and I was the only one (in my unit) who unconsciously fired shots. The soldiers in my unit buried the body.” He also said, “Bak just fled because he was scared.”

Bak was the only civilian who died in the area A mentioned. A was shocked when he heard that the man he had killed was Bak. Then he expressed his wishes to meet with Bak’s family and seek forgiveness. In January, he traveled to Gwangju alone and paid his respects before Bak’s grave and apologized.

After some consideration, Bak’s family agreed to meet A. A spoke with Bak’s family for over two hours and said, “I gave you pain that no word can ever wash away. I have carried the guilt for forty years,” and sobbed. Bak’s older brother, Bak Jong-su (73) said, “Late as this may be, I am grateful. I will think of this as seeing my dead brother again,” and forgave A.

The May 18 Truth Commission obtained statements from 3-4 soldiers deployed to Gwangju at the time claiming that they shot at civilians during the uprising and is trying to identify the dead victims. An official from the Commission said, “As in the case of A, we hope the soldiers can openly give a statement on the truth of the May 18 Democratic Uprising.”