YouTuber Jeon Han-gil Under Fire for Claiming May 18th Uprising was 'North Korean Operation'

YouTuber Jeon Han-gil, a former Korean history instructor, has ignited a historical distortion controversy by claiming the May 18th Democratic Uprising was an 'uprising instigated by the Kim Dae-jung (DJ) faction and North Korea.' He criticized the movement to include the spirit of the May 18th Uprising in the constitutional preamble, asserting that 'North Koreans actually descended.'

Jeon cited past reports from 'Sky Daily' as evidence in this process. However, that media outlet has since retracted the reports and issued an apology. The Ministry of National Defense stated in 2013 that the 'North Korean involvement theory in the May 18th Uprising' was baseless. In February 2024, the Supreme Court ruled that the claim within Chun Doo-hwan's memoirs about 'North Korean involvement during the May 18th Uprising' was false.

Jeon himself previously criticized proponents of the North Korean involvement theory as 'ignorant and brainwashed.' He has since deleted the segment containing his May 18th remarks from the controversial YouTube video and announced he would issue an official statement clarifying that the content expressed in the video does not reflect his personal stance.

The May 18th Memorial Foundation and the Gwangju City government are considering legal action against Jeon for his controversial YouTube video.