hankyoreh

By Son Jun-hyun, Senior staff writer　

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Korea (TRCK) belatedly confirmed Sunday that it fired an investigator for releasing closed documents pertaining to a massacre of civilians during the Korean War through a thesis she wrote.

TRCK informed investigator Ahn Jeong-ae, 51, that she had be fired for announcing in a thesis she wrote a secret Counter Intelligence Corps (CIC) file on the Geochang Incident. In her thesis, Ahn said that at the time, the counter-insurgency force of the ROK 11th Division ordered - in an appendix of Operational Order No. 5 - that all residents in unpacified areas of Sancheong, Hamyang and Geochang, or as the order put it, “those in the hands of the enemy,” be shot. She said this operational order remains intact in the CIC file “Material on the Geochang Incident, 1951.” Ahn also said that the operational order was later changed to “summarily punish those committing enemy acts when they are found in the area of operations” after it later caused controversy in the National Assembly.

TRCK said, “Ahn’s thesis was turned over by the Ministry of Defense on the condition that it be kept secret as an institution-to-institution transfer, and that it was a serious problem for Ahn to release it without permission. It decided to give Ahn the most severe punishment, dismissal.”

The material Ahn released was significant as it　was the first time it was revealed through military documents that the army, which was engaged in the time in eradicating pro-communist partisans, massacred civilians in accordance with orders.

A review of the composition of the file reveals that the bulk of its contents are 15 reports by the Military Police Headquarters, including photographs of the scene, made immediately after the incident. It also includes a report by the 3rd Battalion, 9th Regiment, 11th Division, a report by Geochang Police Station, and in particular, two CIC reports to cover-up the investigation records.

Of the fatalities reported by Geochang Police Station, 517 civilians were killed in Sinwon township, Geochang: of these, 217 (42 percent) were under the age of 16 and 51 (10 percent) were elderly citizens over the age of 61. In addition, more women (304) were killed than men (213).

The military police report was forcefully transferred to the CIC on orders from then-Defense Minister Shin Sung-mo. If you look at the CIC report, the process by which the massacre was covered up and minimized is clearly revealed.

The incidents in Sancheong and Hamyang, which were included in the Military Police Headquarters report, were dropped as the CIC changed the report: afterwards, the massacre came to be known as just the “Geochang Massacre.”

Moreover, the content of the order was changed from “shoot everyone” to “summarily deal with those committing enemy acts when they are found in the area of operations.” The CIC file also includes the facts that as the CIC investigated the scene of the incident on orders from then-President Rhee Syngman, they minimized the casualties, disposed of and hid the bodies of small children, and covered up sexual assaults and looting.

In the measures the CIC crafted to deal with the incident, the CIC said it would keep casualties to about 300: it would not list victims under 14 or over 60, and would minimize the number of women. The CIC also ordered that the bodies of small children be disposed of, and that acts of sexual assault and looting of property such as cows by the army be hidden.

Ahn, whose thesis, based on the CIC file, was entitled “Truth of the Sancheon-Hamyang-Goechang Massacres during the Korean War and the Cover-up Operation,” summarized that the cover-up was conducted by Defense Minister Shin, who had the backing of the President Rhee, through the CIC.

Jeong Hae-gu, professor of political science at SungKongHoe University, said, “Since Ahn’s thesis includes the cover-up process of minimizing the number of victims and hiding the bodies of children immediately after the Geochang Massacre, previously unclear facts have been revealed.” Jeong also said, “The thesis’s academic value is high, and accordingly, the victims’ families could demand an additional investigation.”

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]