Jeong Ho-yong, a former Minister of the Ministry of National Defense who took part in the Dec. 12 military coup as a key figure of the new military group and was convicted in connection with the suppression of the May 18 pro-democracy uprising, died on the 13th at 94.
He was the last surviving member among those cited as the "five key figures of the new military group," along with former Presidents Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo. As he died without apologizing for the May 18 suppression or cooperating with efforts to uncover the truth, no testimony remains from a key party who could clarify the decision-making process inside the new military group at the time.
Born in 1932 in Daegu, the former Minister Jeong was a classmate of former Presidents Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo in the 11th class of the Korea Military Academy. He was counted among the "five key figures of the new military group," along with former Army Chief of Staff and martial law commander Lee Hui-seong, and former Army Vice Chief of Staff Hwang Young-si.
The former Minister Jeong took part in the Dec. 12, 1979, military coup and was appointed commander of the Army Special Warfare Command the next day.
He was indicted in 1996, after democratization, on charges including involvement in the Dec. 12 military coup and the suppression of the May 18 pro-democracy uprising, and the following year the Supreme Court finalized a seven-year prison sentence. At the time, charges applied included performing important duties in insurrection, murder with the purpose of insurrection, performing important duties in rebellion, and violation of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes (abetting bribery).
During the May 18 pro-democracy uprising, the former Minister Jeong, then commander of the Special Warfare Command, is understood to have visited Gwangju at least four times during the uprising.
The former Minister Jeong has denied responsibility for the bloody suppression, saying that the paratroopers deployed to Gwangju were assigned to a different operational chain of command and that his visits to Gwangju were to provide administrative and logistical support to subordinate units.
However, claims have been consistently made that the May 18 suppression operation was carried out through an informal command chain of "core of the new military group → Special Warfare commander → airborne brigade commanders." The former Minister Jeong's responsibility for supporting the "Sangmu Chungjeong Operation," the martial law forces' reentry into the South Jeolla Provincial Office on May 27, 1980, was also recognized in a subsequent Supreme Court ruling.
At the core of the new military group's power, he served up to Army Chief of Staff during the Fifth Republic before retiring as a four-star general. In 1987, near the end of the Chun Doo-hwan administration, he successively served as Minister of Home Affairs and Minister of the Ministry of National Defense.
In 1988, as a member of the Democratic Justice Party, he ran in Daegu Seo-gu Gap in the 13th National Assembly election and was elected, but resigned his seat the following year as public opinion to settle accounts with the Fifth Republic intensified. In the 14th general election in 1992, he ran as an independent in the same district and was elected again. He later served as chairman of the Korea Military Academy Development Fund and as head of the Special Warfare Command Veterans' Association.
During the presidential election last year, the central election committee of People Power Party presidential candidate Kim Moon-soo appointed the former Minister Jeong as a senior adviser, but rescinded the appointment about five hours later after controversy arose.
With the former Minister Jeong's death, all five key figures of the new military group have died. In particular, there are observations that it has become harder to secure additional testimony from those involved about the firing command structure during May 18 and the decision-making process inside the new military group.
Ko Jae-dae, Secretary-General of the May 18 Memorial Foundation, told the media, "We express regret that the former Minister Jeong, a person responsible for May 18 who was convicted over the operation to enter the old South Jeolla Provincial Office, has left without an apology."
Yang Jae-hyeok, head of the May 18 Bereaved Families' Association, also said, "Just because the former Minister Jeong has died does not mean the wrongdoing at the time can be buried."
The former Minister Jeong's mourning altar has been set up at Ajou University Hospital in Suwon, Gyeonggi. The hospital did not disclose specific funeral information, such as the time of death or the funeral schedule. According to the funeral hall, the bereaved family is said to not want details related to the death to be made public.