Military Medals Revoked for 12.12 Coup Leaders 46 Years Later

The military medals awarded to the members of the new military junta who abducted Army Chief of Staff Chung Seung-hwa during the December 12 military insurrection have been revoked after 46 years. This includes figures such as Woo Kyung-yoon and Choi Seok-rip, as well as Cho Hong, Choi Seok-rip, and Baek Woon-taek, who were photographed celebrating the success of the coup. The Ministry of National Defense has revoked the military service medals and insignias of 76 individuals involved in the December 12 insurrection and the suppression of the May 18 Democratization Movement.

According to the Ministry of National Defense today, the government decided to revoke the medals and insignias of 167 individuals during a cabinet meeting held earlier today. This list includes a large number of participants in the operation to arrest Chung Seung-hwa during the December 12 military insurrection, such as Brigadier General Woo Kyung-yoon and Colonel Choi Seok-rip of the Hanahoe, a secret military organization.

A Ministry of National Defense official stated, "At the time, they received the medals under the pretext of national security, but it has been confirmed that they received these honors despite having no achievements in performing duties equivalent to combat or dedicating themselves to national defense." The official added, "This falls under the category of 'false merits,' which is a criterion for the revocation of honors under the Awards and Decorations Act."

Brigadier General Woo was the head of the Army Criminal Investigation Command (then a colonel) at the time and was the figure who led the operation to arrest then-Martial Law Commander and Army Chief of Staff Chung Seung-hwa on the day of the military insurrection, acting under the orders of Chun Doo-hwan.

At approximately 6:55 p.m. on December 12, he arrived at the Army Chief of Staff's official residence in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, as part of the first arrest team. He grabbed the resisting General Chung's right arm to forcibly take him into custody, and sustained a gunshot wound during the process due to friendly fire.

Although Brigadier General Woo received the Eulji Order of Military Merit for national security merits on December 31 of that year, about two weeks after the successful military insurrection, his medal was revoked by the cabinet decision today.

Colonel Choi Seok-rip, then commander of the 33rd Military Police Battalion and also a member of the Hanahoe, led about 60 of his troops to seize the Chief of Staff's residence by force and participated in the arrest and illegal detention of General Chung.

As a close confidant of Chun Doo-hwan, he had been tasked by Chun to prepare troops starting a week before the December 12 military insurrection.

Colonel Choi also received the Chungmu Order of Military Merit, the third-highest military honor, for national security merits immediately after the success of the December 12 military insurrection.

Major Han Gil-seong, Major Kim Dae-gyun, Warrant Officer Kim Deok-su, Warrant Officer Shin Dong-gi, Warrant Officer Yang Il-geun, and Sergeant Park Won-cheol, who were assigned to the arrest and cleanup teams and participated in the operation, also received the Chungmu Order of Military Merit for national security, but their medals were revoked as of today.

A Ministry of National Defense official described them as "key figures who were part of the Defense Security Command during the December 12 military insurrection and directly participated in the forced abduction of Army Chief of Staff Chung Seung-hwa."

The Chungmu Order of Military Merit was also revoked for two other key figures of the new military junta: Baek Woon-taek, a Korea Military Academy classmate of Chun Doo-hwan and a founding member of the Hanahoe, and Cho Hong, the former commander of the Capital Defense Command Military Police who played a central role during the military insurrection.

Cho Hong, Choi Seok-rip, and Baek Woon-taek even took a commemorative photo with Chun Doo-hwan in the courtyard of the Defense Security Command to celebrate the success of the December 12 military insurrection.

The list of those whose military medals were revoked also includes individuals related to the May 18 Democratization Movement, such as Lieutenant General So Jun-yeol, who commanded the suppression of protesters as the Combat Arms Training Command commander, and Byun Gil-nam, then commander of the 13th Battalion of the 3rd Airborne Special Forces Brigade, who participated in the hardline suppression operation.

The Eulji Order of Military Merit was also revoked for two four-star generals, former Chief of Naval Operations Kim Jong-gon and former Air Force Chief of Staff Yoon Ja-joong, who served between 1979 and 1981.

The Ministry of National Defense explained that although they received the medals for national security merits, it was found that the proper cabinet deliberation procedures were not followed and their merits were false.

In today's cabinet meeting, the military service medals and insignias of 76 individuals who were illegally or unfairly decorated for their roles in the December 12 military insurrection, the suppression of the May 18 Democratization Movement, and the emergency martial law at the time were revoked.

Previously, the Ministry of National Defense revoked the Chungmu Order of Military Merit for 10 individuals who played significant roles in the December 12 military insurrection in March of this year.

A Ministry of National Defense official said, "We will continue to verify whether there are any other cases of illegal or unfair decorations from the past," adding, "If it is confirmed that the merits were false or that there were procedural flaws, we will proceed with the revocation of the honors without exception to establish the honor and fairness of the awards."

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.