Military and police offer first-ever apology to victims of Apr. 3 Jeju Massacre

Posted on : 2019-04-04 15:58 KST Modified on : 2019-04-04 15:58 KST
Thousands of innocent civilians were tortured and/or killed by police and military
Sisters Kim In-hu and Kim Jeong-hee weep in front of the grave of their brother
Sisters Kim In-hu and Kim Jeong-hee weep in front of the grave of their brother

“There must be some mistake. They still haven’t sent him over.”

Sisters Kim In-hu, 83, and Kim Jeong-hee, 80, sat dazedly on Apr. 3 in front of the tombstone of their brother Kim Jeon-joong – 20 at the time of his death – in the missing persons’ grave section of Jeju April 3 Peace Park in Jeju City’s Bonggae neighborhood.

“He’s not here yet,” said Jeong-hee.

“How is he coming?” said In-hu, holding a handkerchief to her eye as the two departed. Their brother had been a teacher at Hagwi Elementary School when he was arrested one day in 1949 and taken to a prison on the mainland; after the outbreak of the Korean War, he disappeared.

“They were in the wrong place at the wrong time, and all of our successful siblings died. His only crime was teaching children,” they lamented.

 whose remains were never discovered
whose remains were never discovered

Many family members of victims in the Jeju Uprising (Massacre), known locally as “Jeju April 3,” visited the missing persons’ section, inscription of names, and shrine of ancestral tablets at Jeju April 3rd Peace Park that day, which saw a commemorative ceremony being held for the incident’s 71st anniversary. A number of them stood in front of the inscription looking for the names of specific victims. Some had no memories of their father who was killed during the event, but all shared the same longing.

“I stop at the inscription and look at my father’s name every time I go to exercise at Jeolmul Recreational Forest just above the Peace Park,” explained 72-year-old Lee Mi-hwa.

Han Ok-seok, an 86-year-old resident of the village of Hamdeok in Jocheon township, can still remember the image of her mother being seized by the Republic of Korea Army’s 9th Regiment and shot in a nearby field on Dec. 21, 1948.

Eighty-year-old Kim Nang-gyu’s grandfather, grandmother, and mother were killed by police during Jeju April 3.

“If you gathered together all my tears, it would be like the Han River,” Kim said, weeping before the inscribed names. She further suffered the agony of having her father’s ancestral tablet removed from the April 3rd Peace Park’s shrine because he was not recognized as a victim. In a low voice, she sang a song she described as having welled up within her heart since her childhood.

“My mother, like the full moon / Left me behind like a half moon / How great is the other side / That once they go, they never return?” the lyrics went.

 in Jeju April 3 Peace Park on Apr. 3.
in Jeju April 3 Peace Park on Apr. 3.

Visiting with her was her husband Song Tae-hwi, 86.

“The soldiers did barbaric things. My brother was 19 years old, a second-year student in middle school, and they tied him up with other residents by the neck and legs at a stream in downtown Jeju, shot them, and poured gasoline on them and burned them,” he said.

“He was burnt unrecognizably. We had to find him by the remaining clothing and fragments of his shoes,” he recalled.

Song described the apology from the Ministry of National Defense as “late in coming but welcome.”

“But if they’re going to apologize, they ought to do it at the memorial ceremony site,” he added.

Family members of the Jeju Massacre victims pay their respects at the shrine of ancestral tablets at Jeju April 3rd Peace Park on Apr. 3.
Family members of the Jeju Massacre victims pay their respects at the shrine of ancestral tablets at Jeju April 3rd Peace Park on Apr. 3.
Prime minister vows to restore dignity of victims

In a commemorative address that day, Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon said, “The Moon Jae-in administration has taken it as its historical mission to uncover the truth of Jeju April 3 and restore the dignity [of the victims].”

“We will supply the truth of Jeju April 3 until the residents of Jeju say, ‘That’s enough,‘ and we will restore [the victims’] honor,” he pledged.

Twenty-two-year-old Jeong Hyang-sin, a third-year student at Jeju National University and the granddaughter of 79-year-old survivor Kim Yeon-ok, brought tears to the eyes of attending family members and residents with her recitation of her family’s turbulent history as a gesture of sharing the events of April 3 among three generations.

Family members of the Jeju Massacre victims pay their respects at the inscription stone at Jeju April 3rd Peace Park on Apr. 3.
Family members of the Jeju Massacre victims pay their respects at the inscription stone at Jeju April 3rd Peace Park on Apr. 3.
Defense Ministry offers public apology for first time

The military and police – who slaughtered innocent civilians in Jeju during the massacre– offered their first-ever official apology to survivors and victim family members the same day. At a memorial ceremony held at 11 am at Gwanghwamun Square, National Police Agency Commissioner General Min Gap-ryong became the first head of the police in history to attend and offer a dedication of flowers. In the visitors’ book, he wrote, “I humbly share my condolences before the spirits of all those innocent people who were killed during Jeju April 3, and I respectfully share my wishes that they rest in peace.”

In a position statement, the Ministry of National Defense said, “We respect the spirit of the Special Jeju April 3 Act, and we express our deep dismay and condolences concerning the deaths of Jeju residents during the suppression process.” Vice Minister of National Defense Seo Joo-seok also visited Gwanghwamun Square the same day to meet with family members of Jeju April 3 victims in lieu of Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo, who is currently visiting the US.

“We will give our fullest commitment to the government’s investigation efforts going forward and take part in healing the wounds and suffering of the family members while restoring the honor of those who were slain,” Seo said.

A day earlier on Apr. 2, the Association for the Bereaved Families of 4/3 Victims staged a rally of Jeju residents in front of Jeju City Hall to call on the National Assembly to swiftly pass an amendment to the Special Jeju April 3 Act, which has been pending for over one year. In a statement, the family members said, “Passing the Special Jeju April 3 Act amendment would be a starting point both in terms of guaranteeing the rights of April 3 victims and justly resolving a wrongful history through additional investigation and restoration of [the victims’] honor.”

By Huh Ho-joon, Jeju correspondent, and Noh Ji-won, staff reporter

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

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