Ex-dictator Chun's elder brother dies at 90
Chun Ki-hwan. Korea Times file
By Park Si-soo
Chun Ki-hwan, the elder brother of Chun Doo-hwan, who ruled South Korea with an iron fist in the 1980s, has died from natural causes. He was 90.
Chun, a former police officer, amassed a massive fortune in the 1980s by taking advantage of cozy ties with the government and business leaders. He was said to be the “de facto owner” of Noryangjin Fisheries Wholesale Market, the biggest fisheries market in Seoul.
He was jailed on corruption charges in the late 1980s in a sweeping investigation targeting his younger brother's corruption and other illegalities committed during Doo-hwan's 1980-88 presidency.