Grandson of ex-President Chun released after probe over drug use

Chun Woo-won, a grandson of late former President Chun Doohwan, was released Wednesday after being detained the previous day for questioning over suspected illegal drug use.

Police released Chun at around 7:55 p.m., some 38 hours after he was apprehended at Incheon International Airport upon arrival from New York on Tuesday.

Police said they will investigate him without detention in consideration that he confessed to his wrongdoings and returned to the country voluntarily for investigation.

Woo-won, a son of Chun’s second son, Jae-yong, made headlines earlier this month for his revelations online and via media interviews about irregularities involving his family.

Chun Doo-hwan, who was president from 1980-88 after seizing power in a 1979 military coup, is widely criticized for the bloody suppression of a pro-democracy uprising in Gwangju in 1980, which left hundreds of people dead.

In a video uploaded online, the grandson called Chun a “mass murderer” and accused his family of allegedly using money from hidden assets.

In another YouTube video, Woowon said he and his acquaintances had been using illegal drugs, and ingested what he said were ecstasy and other narcotics while livestreaming.

As early as Thursday, he plans to visit Gwangju and apologize to the victims of the 1980 crackdown.