Controversy over ‘Tolerance of Actions by the New Military Regime’,
General John Wickham Jr., former Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army. Legacy.com website,
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, ‘General John Wickham Jr., former Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army who served as the combined forces commander of the South Korea-U.S. during the May 18 Democratization Movement, passed away at the age of 95.’,
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, ‘According to Legacy.com, a U.S. funeral specialized website, General Wickham passed away on the 11th of this month in Oro Valley, Arizona. Legacy.com stated, “The deceased peacefully departed this world” and explained that he is survived by his 69-year-old wife, Ann.’,
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, ‘General Wickham, a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy in 1950, served as the combined forces commander of South Korea and the U.S. from 1979 to 1983. He experienced the military coups on October 26 and December 12, 1979, as well as the May 18 Democratization Movement in 1980.’,
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, At that time, the late General Wickham, in his capacity as the combined forces commander with operational control in South Korea in both peacetime and wartime, was criticized for tolerating the actions of the new military regime, including the violent suppression of the Gwangju Uprising. In his memoir ‘Korea at the Crossroads’ published in 1999, he acknowledged the reality that it was inevitable to accept the control of the new military regime and revealed his understanding that for security and U.S. national interests, he had to cooperate with the new military regime.,
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, However, it is known that in 2007, when the movie ‘May 18’ dealing with the May 18 Democratization Movement was released, he sent an email to the distributor stating, “The new military regime deployed troops without notice. After confirming the use of force against civilians, I protested to high-ranking Korean military officials.”,