[Choice Times=Ji-Hyun Park, Senior Fellow, Center for Asia Pacific Strategy (CAPS), U.K.-based North Korean defector]

Only 16% of respondents in a recent survey evaluating the achievements of former Korean presidents rated President Chun Doo-hwan positively. I felt deep sorrow when I saw that number.

Some South Koreans may scoff, saying,“What would a defector know?”But perhaps we are the ones capable of judging more coldly.

When I resettled abroad and studied history again, I came to understand that among Korea’s former presidents, Chun Doo-hwan was not merely a military figure. He was a leader who stood firmly against North Korea’s threats and helped place South Korea on the global stage.

In October 1980, Kim Il-sung openly sought to absorb the South under his so-called“Democratic Confederal Republic of Koryo”plan. That dream collapsed because Chun responded firmly — so firmly that North Korea announced it only internally.

Since then, the North portrayed Chun as the “puppet clique,” the most brutal enemy of our people. Many North Korean women even changed their names because of First Lady Lee Soon-ja — simply because her name ended with the syllable “ja.”

North Korea even dispatched paid overseas assassination squads to kill Chun. When those attempts failed, the regime intensified its demonization campaign, trying relentlessly to erase his achievements.

The 1988 Seoul Olympics was not just a sports event — it was South Korea’s entrance onto the global stage, a declaration of who it had become. In the midst of the Cold War, in a divided nation’s capital, South Korea presented itself as a member of the free world. Behind that moment stood Chun’s decisions and drive: diplomatic negotiations, national infrastructure preparation, and security management all at once.

But South Korean society today confines Chun to the single word “Gwangju.”
People insist that without him, the Gwangju tragedy would not have occurred. They continue to hate him.

South Korea must properly reveal who was actually responsible for the Gwangju incident. Because it hasn’t, the country hides the truth behind the simplified memory called “Chun Doo-hwan.” In that fog, South Koreans lose sight of who their real enemy is.

North Korea continues developing nuclear weapons, violating human rights, and maintaining hostility toward the South. Yet South Koreans seem consumed by internal conflict, forgetting the external threat entirely.

If Korea cannot fairly evaluate Chun — that is, if it cannot remember both his achievements and his faults — then it will lose hope.
Because within that memory lies the spirit of defending the nation,achieving global advancement, and recognizing the true enemy.

Without the courage to acknowledge both sides of history, the nation loses its compass for the future.

Below: Korean Gallup Poll Results

In a recent Gallup Korea survey evaluating former presidents:

“Did many good things as president”:
Roh Moo-hyun 68%, Park Chung-hee 62%, Kim Dae-jung 60%, Kim Young-sam 42%, Lee Myung-bak 35%, Moon Jae-in 33%

“Did many wrong things”:
Yoon Suk-yeol 77%, Chun Doo-hwan 68%, Park Geun-hye 65%, Roh Tae-woo 50%, Lee Myung-bak 46%, Moon Jae-in 44%

Current President Lee Jae-myung’s approval: 60% positive,31% negative.
Party support: Democratic Party 42%, People Power Party 24%.

The survey was conducted via phone interviews using mobile virtual numbers, sampling 1,000 adults nationwide, with a 95% confidence level, ±3.1%p margin of error, and an 11.9% response rate.

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