January 21, 2002, Kukmin Ilbo, p. 30
Korean War Abductee List Released for First Time


A wartime abductee advocacy group has obtained and released a list of people abducted by North Korea during the Korean War.

The Korean War Abductees’ Family Union (KWAFU) released a list entitled “List of Abductees in Seoul” written up by the South Korean government during the Korean War, and called on the government to investigate the fate of the abductees and implement measures to repatriate survivors and the remains of the dead.

The list was obtained from an old books collector, and was written by the statistics department in the Ministry of Public Information on December 1, 1950. This is the first time an official government document concerning those abducted by North Korea has ever been found.

According to the list, 4616 South Korean civilians were victimized by North Korean forces from the start of the war on June 25, 1950, to the recapture of Seoul by friendly forces on September 28, 1950. Of the people on this list, 2438 were abducted, 976 were killed, and 1202 are listed as “whereabouts unknown.” The list also provides information about where the victims were from. A total of 892 hailed from Jung-gu, 769 from Jongro-gu, and 679 from Yongsan-gu.

The list also provides basic information about each victim, stating his/her name, age, occupation, history, how they were victimized, where and when they were victimized, and their address. Included in the list are such luminaries as novelist Lee Gwang Su, Korea University President Hyun Sang Yoon, Seoul National University President Chae Gyu Dong, Seoul National University College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Dean Son Jin Tae, and National Assemblyman An Jae Hong.

The list describes Lee Gwang Su, who was 69 at the time, as a writer, and that he was aducted from his house in Hyoja-dong on July 12, 1950. Korea University President Hyun Sang Yoon was abducted in front of Nakwon Market in Insa-dong on July 26.

Also noted on the list was that it had been created to record those who had been victimized by the enemy in Seoul during the three months the city was under enemy control. The list only took into account cases of victimization of people over 14 years old, and did not include those who were drafted into North Korea’s “volunteer army.”