Helicopter shooting during May 18 Democratic Uprising in Gwangju

Amid the heat and roar of the May 18 Democratic Uprising in Gwangju, the news about “Helicopter shooting” by the military made the public outraged against the dictatorship because it had been told that soldiers armed themselves with machine guns to shoot innocent citizens from helicopters. However, according to new forensic investigation results released on Thursday by the National Forensic Service, the actual firearm was found to be a 5.56mm caliber gun, which had left bullet marks over the nearby Jeon-il building in the city’s downtown. The National Forensic Service added that M16 rifles were probably used for shooting. With an intention to crack down the citizen army, the military carried machine guns with a caliber of 7.62mm or bigger in its UH-1 and 500MD helicopters during the period. As such, if soldiers used rifles instead of machine guns while boarding on mission helicopters, the key allegation against the dictatorship’s wrongdoing seems a bit irrelevant.

Back in 1995, the prosecution called in Catholic Priest Cho Bio and Arnold Peterson, a missionary, who both happened to be in Gwangju during the uprising and witnessed the incident. However, Hong Ran, previously pegged by Cho as a victim of helicopter shooting, was actually wounded from a rifle shot by the martial law army who had been ambushed in rooftop. According to autopsy results, another victim Sim Dong-seon was found to be shot from an M16 rifle. The suspicious picture of gleaming light underneath a helicopter was found to be an anti-collision sensor lighting instead shooting flame as suggested before. Putting the piece together, the prosecution office has concluded the helicopter shooting incident was false claim and had never existed.

On the other hand, the National Forensic Service supports the validity of helicopter shooting given that bullet marks were left at an almost horizontal angle in an office on the 10th floor of Jeon-il building and exterior of the building and that there were no skyscrapers nearby. However, it is extremely difficult to shoot a target using rifle from helicopter even while hovering due to excessive vibration. At the same time, it seems highly awkward to imagine soldiers using rifles instead of machine guns that are already in their hands.

After all, regardless of type of firearms, it is a shame for the military to fire a gun against citizens. Anyone who had military training experiences is aware of the capability and power of helicopter. Even a single helicopter is fair enough to instill fear among infantrymen that there is nowhere to hide. If the military operated helicopters to defeat the civilian army and fired guns against innocent citizens, it cannot escape from criticism against its inhumane behaviors.