South Korea’s defense ministry on Wednesday, November 7, broke decades of silence to apologize for martial law troops who raped women, teenagers during a pro-democracy uprising in the country in 1980.
Defense minister Jeong Kyeong-doo issued a public apology for the “unspeakable, deep scars and pain” on “innocent women” who were raped and subjected to “sex torture” by South Korean soldiers, told Straits Times.
Demonstrators in the southern city of Gwangju, Korea were beaten to death, tortured, bayoneted and dismembered with bullets.
Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon apologized for the violence committed by the soldiers and said the government will do whatever it can to help victims.
According to official figures, more than 200 people were left dead or missing, while activists claim the toll may have been three times as much.
In the 1980 uprising, thousands of Gwangju citizens revolted against the internal coup at the time.
