Reevaluation
At the Mangwol-dong cemetery in Gwangju where victims' bodies were buried, survivors of the massacre and bereaved families have held an annual memorial service on May 18 every year since 1983. Many pro-democracy demonstrations in the 1980s demanded official recognition of the truth of the Gwangju massacre and punishment for those responsible.
Official reevaluation began after the reinstatement of direct presidential elections in 1987. In 1988, the National Assembly held a public hearing on the Gwangju massacre, and officially renamed the incident as the Gwangju Democratization Movement. While this official renaming occurred in 1987, it can also be found translated into English as Gwangju People's Uprising and Kwangju Rebellion.
In 1995, as public pressure mounted, the National Assembly passed the Special Law on May 18 Democratization Movement, which enabled prosecution of those responsible for the December 12 coup d'état and Gwangju massacre despite the fact that the statute of limitations had run out. Subsequently 8 politicians were indicted for high treason and the massacre in 1996. Their punishments were settled in 1997, including an initial death sentence, changed to a life sentence for former President Chun Doo-hwan. Former President Roh Tae-Woo, Chun's successor and fellow participant in the December 12 coup, was also sentenced to life in prison. But all convicts were pardoned in the name of national reconciliation on December 22 by President Kim Young-sam, based on advice from then president-elect Kim Dae-Jung.
In 1997, May 18 was declared an official memorial day. In 2002, a law privileging bereaved families took effect, and the Mangwol-dong cemetery was elevated to the status of a national cemetery.
Read more about this topic: Gwangju Democratization Movement