A group of people who lost their loved ones during the military crackdown of the 1980 pro-democracy movement in Gwangju are criticizing the latest court decision against ex-President Chun Doo-hwan, who led the military junta that was responsible for the bloody suppression. 

The May Mothers, a group consisting of women who lost their children or husbands during the May 1980 incident, was staging a sit-in protest on a road in the southwestern city that leads to the Gwangju court house when the verdict was announced on Monday. 

The 89-year-old former president was given a suspended jail sentence for slandering a late pro-democracy activist in a high-profile defamation case after the court acknowledged the credibility of witness accounts that civilians were fired upon by soldiers in helicopters during the crackdown. 

The group protested the sentencing, with some calling it “nonsensical" and too lenient. Some Gwangju residents also expressed regret over the court ruling, saying it is miles apart from their wishes and sentiments.

Hundreds of people were killed and injured after the military clashed with Gwangju residents and students protesting against the military dictatorship in 1980.