Image copyright KCTV / Chosun Ilbo Image caption Kim Young-shu, 82, says Chun was “among the good ones” who are still respected by North Korea’s military
Former South Korean dictator Chun Doo-hwan has died at the age of 90.
The former head of state began his long run in politics when his eldest son, a judge, was killed in a car crash in 1982.
He rose to become a head of state in 1979.
Chun Doo-hwan was an autocrat who oversaw crushing a major political uprising in 1987. Thousands were killed and he was found guilty of genocide, but the trial was later dismissed.
Chun Doo-hwan’s successor was his younger brother, Roh Tae-woo, who would go on to serve in the same position.
Roh, who was later a democratically elected president in 1998, died in office in 2003, before being convicted and sentenced to life in prison in a corruption scandal.
He was later pardoned.
Kim Young-shu, a former South Korean military general who was also involved in the ruling party during the Chun era, says Chun was “among the good ones” who are still respected by North Korea’s military.
A US State Department official described Chun as “a disgraced soldier-leader whose brutality did untold damage to South Korea”.