Conservative commentator Ji Man-won arrested over claims of North Korean military involvement in 5.18... “Risk of destroying evidence and fleeing”

[Financial News] The conservative commentator Ji Man-won, who is accused of defaming victims and their bereaved families by spreading false claims that North Korean troops were involved in the 5.18 Democratization Movement, has been arrested.
On the 27th, Suwon District Court Chief Judge Kim Hong-seop, who handles warrants, conducted a pre-arrest suspect interrogation (warrant hearing) for Ji on suspicion of violating the Special Act on the 5.18 Democratization Movement, etc., and the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, etc. (defamation). He then issued an arrest warrant, saying, “There is concern that he may destroy evidence and flee.”
Ji is accused of using his website, “Ji Man-won’s System Club,” to refer to citizens who participated in the 5.18 Democratization Movement as “members of a North Korean corpse disposal unit,” among other labels, and to make claims of North Korean military involvement some 60 times using the derogatory phrase “corpse-trading event.” He is also accused of publishing books containing related claims. Police began investigating after finding numerous unlawful posts on his website through their own monitoring last May, and requested a pre-arrest warrant on the 14th.
Ji has denied all the charges. Appearing at the warrant hearing that morning, he held up one of his books and claimed, “This is the truth of the research I conducted over 24 years, but the warrant describes it as false information.” When reporters asked whether he had anything to say to the victims and bereaved families of the 5.18 Democratization Movement, he expressed displeasure, saying, “No. Don’t ask that; it’s a politically loaded question.”
During police questioning, Ji also argued that his actions were for “art, academic, or research” purposes, which are exempted under the current 5.18 Democratization Movement Act. Police rejected this, saying his actions could not be considered legitimate academic research because he had not followed objective historical research procedures and methods, such as examining historical materials.
Police plan to further investigate Ji, who is in custody, into the specific circumstances of the alleged offenses. Ji was also indicted in 2023 on charges including defaming citizens who participated in the 5.18 Democratization Movement by denouncing them as “North Korean special forces,” and was sentenced to two years in prison.


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