March 30, 2001, Chosun Ilbo
One Million Signature Campaign Begins
Aimed at Confirming Fate of Wartime Abductees
An Seok Bae


A “million signature campaign” has begun, calling for the information about the fate of some 85,000 people who were abducted during the Korean War by North Korea.

The Korean War Abductees’ Family Union (KWAFU) announced yesterday that it would begin a nation-wide signature campaign calling for information about the fate of those abducted by North Korea during the Korean War. The campaign will travel to six cities in South Korea, including Seoul, Daejeon, Busan and Gwangju.
“We plan to submit the signatures we collect to the North Korean Red Cross and International Red Cross,” said a KWAFU spokesperson. “We will work together with the U.N. Human Rights Committee and International Red Cross to discover the fate of the abductees.”

Mi-Il Lee, the president of KWAFU, said that, “Divided family letter exchanges and reunions are taking place following the North-South summit meeting, but the families of more than 85,000 abductees still do not know the fate of their loved ones.”
KWAFU was established in November of last year, and is composed of family members of abductees who worked as lawyers, doctors, national assemblymen, and journalists before they were abducted.