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Investigation records for democracy movement activists to be made public in January of 2019. (provided by the National Archives of Korea)

Invaluable archival materials related to South Korea’s democratization are seeing the light of day for the first time in 45 years.

The materials in question include an arrest warrant for activist and politician Baek Gi-wan, a testimony record for activist and journalist Chang Chun-ha, an appeal petition for Reverend Park Hyeong-gyu, and a testimony record for former President Yun Po-sun.

The National Archives of Korea (affiliated with the Ministry of Interior and Safety) announced on Dec. 10 that archival materials in connection with the so-called Democracy Youth and Student League (DYSL) incident in 1974 were transferred over in November from the Ministry of National Defense, where they had been in storage with the ministry’s prosecutors.

Consisting of 105 total documents including trial and investigation records for 180 individuals involved in the DYSL incident, the materials are to be made accessible on the NAK website as of Jan. 1.

The testimony record for former President Yun Po-un

Part of the campaign opposing the Yushin Constitution after its adoption in 1972, the DSYL incident saw the Korean Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA, a previous incarnation of the current National Intelligence Service) questioning a total of 1,024 opponents of the Yushin Constitution and referring 180 of them for emergency courts-martial.

After concluding that an espionage ring had been responsible for the campaign, the KCIA invoked the fourth Emergency Measure on Apr. 3, 1974. In 2005, a truth and reconciliation commission investigating the NIS concluded that the incident represented the suppression of South Korea’s largest student movement; in 2010, a court ordered the state to compensate the victims.

The documents to be made available include trial and investigation records for the 180 individuals referred for courts-martial, including arrest warrants, indictments, trial reports, investigation reports, and suspect testimony records. Also included are testimony records, arguments, and appeal petitions for some of the preeminent figures in South Korea’s democracy movement, including Chang, Baek, Park, and Catholic Bishop Ji Hak-sun. Records for Chang and Baek total over 4,000 pages in six volumes, while records for Ji, Yun, and Park run to some 2,000 pages.

The individual archival materials for major figures appear likely to contribute to studies on South Korea’s contemporary history. An examination record showing Yun’s statements to prosecutors when he was sentenced in connection with the DSYL incident in 1974 showed evidence of his resistance against the dictatorship at the time.

“With the current administration and regime drawing us into an undemocratic dictatorial system, even friendly nations have been seriously denouncing South Korea as a ‘police state’ and ‘dictatorship’ in terms of international issues, which is harming our friendly relations. In terms of domestic issues, the public objects to this undemocratic dictatorship,” he is quoted as saying.

The newly unveiled materials were also described as significant in offering a glimpse of the process of arrests for violators of the Emergency Measures.

“These records provide basic materials offering a concrete look at the organization and activities of DYSL and the response from the Park Chung-hee administration,” said Chosun University professor Noe Young-gi.

“They offer key data on South Korea’s contemporary history, showing the reality of the democracy movement as well as the perceptions of politicians and courts at the time.”

By Kim Mi-hyang, staff reporter

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