Former national swimmer under fire for calling Gwangju uprising a ‘riot’
Former national swimmer Cho Hee-yeon / Captured from her Instagram
Former national swimmer Cho Hee-yeon, 41, a 1998 Asian Games gold medalist, is facing intense backlash after publicly referring to the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement as a “riot.”
Though she has since issued two apologies, her tone and repeated justifications have drawn criticism for lacking sincerity and accountability.
The controversy began on June 7 when Cho commented on a post on social media platform Threads, saying, “What I always say… May 18 was a riot! A riot filled with rebellious spirit! And now they want to include it in the Constitution? Sigh.”
The original post she replied to also pushed conspiracy theories about North Korean involvement and labeled pro-democracy protesters as violent looters.
Public reaction was swift. Many online users accused Cho of crossing a line. In response, she doubled down in another post titled “Mind Your Own Business,” writing, “Who decides what’s crossing the line? You? That’s your judgment, not mine,” and added, “This won’t affect my life at all, so don’t pick a fight. There are Olympic medalists who’ve said worse.”
After images of a complaint filed against her began circulating online, alleging a violation of the Special Act on the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement for spreading false information, Cho posted an apology on Sunday.
“It seems many were hurt by my comment calling May 18 a ‘riot.’ I apologize to the innocent citizens who suffered and to those who died for democracy,” she wrote.
However, her statement quickly drew criticism for appearing to shift blame and downplay responsibility.
She added, “Let me clarify: the people I meant to criticize were not those noble souls. Please don’t misunderstand because of extreme comments.” Her phrasing, which included “seems many were hurt” and “to those citizens,” was seen as minimizing the impact and narrowing the scope of her apology.
Online commenters blasted the statement as insincere. Reactions included: “Why only apologize to ‘innocent’ citizens?” “Separating the ‘noble’ from the rest to apologize doesn’t make sense,” and “This reads more like damage control than remorse.”
On June 9, Cho issued another apology, saying, “I wrote what I thought in a comment, and I apologize to those who were misunderstood and hurt.” She again clarified that her remarks did not target innocent victims of the uprising.
However, she said her core belief that May 18 was a riot had not changed.
Cho Hee-yeon, who won gold in the women’s 200m butterfly at the 1998 Bangkok Asian Games. Korea Times file
Cho rose to fame as a swimmer in the late 1990s, winning gold in the 200m butterfly at the 1998 Bangkok Asian Games and multiple other medals, setting national records and earning the nickname “Mermaid of Korea.”
In recent years, however, she has become known for espousing right-wing views on social media and YouTube. She attended the “Yoon Again” rally in April in support of former President Yoon Suk Yeol after his impeachment, and has shared content promoting election fraud conspiracy theories.
This article from the Hankook Ilbo, a sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.