First attempt of the government to find the truth about the Korean War abduction

Dong-A Daily
Dec. 14, 2010


The ROK government officially took the first step toward finding the truth about the Korean War abductees, who are estimated to number more than 100,000, on December 13.

The National Committee on Investigating Abductions by North Korea during the Korean War and Restoring Honor of the Victims held its first meeting with Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik, who is also Chair of the Committee, and began working.

The Committee is located on the 10th floor of Kyobo building in Sejong-ro, Jongro-gu, Seoul. Its main duty is to deliberate and decide matters related to the Korean War abductions.

Specifically, the Committee is involved in a variety of activities, including investigating how abductions took place during the Korean War, deciding whether people who claimed to be taken to North Korea are abductees, and considering how to restore the honor of abductees, how to discover their fate, and how to repatriate them.

The Committee plans to receive reports on the damage done by the abductions through offices in towns, counties, and cities nationwide as well as diplomatic offices, starting from January 2011. When reports are submitted to the working committees, located in 16 provinces and cities, they will be sent to the Committee. Then, in 90 days, the Committee will decide whether the person reported is an abductee or not.

Lee Tae-young (68), Director of the Korean War Abductees’ Family Union (KWAFU) and son of former Dong-A Daily reporter Lee Gil-yong, participated in the opening ceremony.

Lee Gil-yong played a leading role in “the Erasure of Japanese National Flag.” O Jae-Gyeong (90), former president of Dong-A Daily and son of O Taek-gwan, member of the Constituent National Assembly, also took part in the event. Besides them, family members of the abductees, Minister of Unification Hyun In-Taek, members of the Grand National Party (Kim Chung-hwan, Lee Eun-jae, Hwang Jin-ha) and Korea Bar Association President Kim Pyong-woo graced the event, making the total number of participants around 100.