Ji Man-won Arrested Again for Spreading 'North Korean Military Involvement' Theory Regarding May 18... Court Cites "Evidence Tampering and Flight Risk"

Conservative commentator Ji Man-won, 83, has been arrested after receiving another arrest warrant from the court for continuously spreading false information online that damages the honor of victims and bereaved families of the May 18 Democratic Uprising.

On the 27th, Suwon District Court held a pre-arrest questioning (warrant review) for Ji on charges including violations of the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection (defamation) and violations of the Special Law on the May 18 Democratic Uprising, and issued an arrest warrant, citing "risks of evidence tampering and flight."

Ji is suspected of spreading approximately 60 false posts claiming North Korean military involvement by referring to citizens who participated in the May 18 Democratic Uprising as "North Korean special forces (Gwangsu)" through his website and other platforms, thereby damaging the honor of victims and bereaved families.

The police determined that Ji's claims constitute the dissemination of false information outside normal research activities, lacking objective academic research procedures and source material verification for historical clarification, and applied for an arrest warrant. Meanwhile, Ji's side reportedly completely denied the allegations during the warrant review, claiming it was "academic research conducted over 20 years based on related historical materials."

Previously, Ji was prosecuted on identical charges of distorting and demeaning the May 18 Democratic Uprising and damaging the honor of related individuals, and was sentenced to two years in prison, which he completed. However, investigations revealed that even after his release, he continued similar distorting activities by repeatedly posting his existing claims on the internet.

The police plan to conduct additional investigations into the circumstances of the posts' creation and specific facts of the allegations against the arrested Ji, and then refer the case to the prosecution.