[Photo] Chun Doo-hwan insists he was using “poetic embellishment” in memoir

Ex-president Chun Doo-hwan, who is currently on trial for defamation of the deceased for referring to the testimony of the late Catholic priest Cho Cheol-hyeon (also known as Cho Pius) as lies in his memoir, has attempted to justify his position by claiming he used the phrase “shameless liar” as a form of “poetic embellishment,” and did not mean it in a literal way. Prosecutors responded by saying Chun wrote his memories with the intention of distorting history under his own personal narrative and discounting the eye witness testimony of Cho Cheol-hyeon. Chun’s next hearing will be held on May 13 at the Gwangju District Court. The photo shows Chun aggressively responding to reporters’ questions ahead of his trial on Mar. 11. (Baek So-ah, staff photographer)