At least five people who took part in a 1979 military coup were found to have been buried at the national cemetery, rekindling a rumpus over who deserves to be laid to rest there.

Civic groups in August had opposed the burial of Ahn Hyun-tae, a member of Hanahoe, a group of military officers led by ex-President Chun Doo-hwan that staged a coup on Dec. 12, 1979, at the national cemetery. The former presidential security chief who served jail a term for amassing slush funds under Chun, however, was entombed in Daejeon National Cemetery last month, according to the May 18 Memorial Foundation.

The controversy over Ahn brought light to the fact that a number of “anti-democracy” figures including the coup leaders and those listed as pro-Japan collaborators under Japan’s colonial rule in the early 20th century were buried at the national cemetery.

Four more of Ahn’s cohort ― former assistant deputy minister of defense Yoo Hak-sung, former military intelligence chief Chung Do-young, former Presidential Security Service official Chung Dong-ho and former battalion commander of an armored brigade Kim Ho-young ― were buried there, Joo Jung-rip, a researcher at the foundation said in a report at a public hearing on revision of the national cemetery law Thursday at the National Assembly.

The five could be legally buried at the national cemetery under current law as they were not among the 16 people found guilty in the 1997 Supreme Court ruling on the 1979 coup and the crackdown on a 1980 democratization movement in Gwangju. Fourteen of the 16 are still alive.

Yoo, who served jail time on charges of treason under martial law, died two weeks before the top court ruling in 1997. The indictment of Yoo was dismissed upon his death, allowing him to be at the Daejeon cemetery.

“The judicial handlings of the two incidents have been too cursory and limited, as can be seen by the fact that people deeply involved in them such as Ahn Hyun-tae could avoid judicial punishment,” Joo said.

Joo called for a legal provision to disallow national cemetery burial of those found to have taken part in treasonous activities although not ruled guilty of treason in court.

Nongovernmental organizations such as the Institute for Research in Collaborationist Activities, the May 18 Memorial Foundation and the Veterans’ Association for Peace discussed at the hearing pro-Japan collaborators buried in the national cemetery, ways to revise rules to move them to another place and the cases of national cemeteries in other countries.

No state recommendation has ever been made so far for any soldier to be moved out of the national cemetery, although similar calls have been made for some of those who were awarded posthumous state decorations for their fight for independence from Japan, after their decorations were annulled.

By Kim So-hyun (sophie@heraldcorp.com)