Gwangju apology: South Korea sorry for rape and torture committed by troops against protesters after 1980 coup

South Korea’s defence ministry on Wednesday broke decades of silence to apologise for martial law troops raping women including teenagers when they crushed a pro-democracy uprising in 1980.

Defence minister Jeong Kyeong-doo issued a public apology for the inflicting of “unspeakable, deep scars and pain” on “innocent women” who were raped and subjected to “sex torture” by soldiers cracking down on protests against a military coup by general Chun Doo-hwan.

Demonstrators in the southern city of Gwangju and passers-by were beaten to death, tortured, bayoneted and disembowelled or riddled with bullets.

Conservatives in the South continue to condemn the uprising as a Communist-inspired rebellion.

According to official figures, more than 200 people were left dead or missing, while activists say the toll may have been three times as much.

Chun’s troops were believed to have also carried out widespread sexual assaults against women but the issue has long been swept under the carpet as traumatised victims remained reluctant to come forward.