The government officially acknowledges the existence of 55 Korean War abductees

Kukmin Daily
Aug. 3, 2011


The government officially recognized 55 South Korean civilians abducted during the Korea War as abductees for the first time. Until now, the Korean government recognized as abductees only those who were taken to the North after the Armistice Agreement in 1953 and has investigated the truth of the abductions and provided compensation only for them.

The National Committee on Investigating Abductions by North Korea during the Korean War and Restoring Honor of the Victims under the authority of the Prime Minister held a meeting at the Central Government Complex in Sejong-ro, Seoul on the 2nd and acknowledged 55 people among the reported abductees.

This decision was made after they began receiving reports on abductees in January and the reports had been investigated in the working committees and discussed in the sub-committee.

The 55 abductees include Kim Sang-deok, Chair of the Special Investigation Committee of Anti-national Activities at the National Assembly, and 5 other members of the Constituent Assembly.

A government official said that 55 were recognized as abductees among 402 people who were reported to the Committee. He added that the Committee will continue to investigate other missing people and recognize them as abductees.

Once recognized as an abductee, an individual is qualified to be the recipient of the government’s measures of restoring his or her honor, including finding his or her fate, delivering letters, and bringing back remains.

The government plans to receive reports until 2013 and decide who qualifies as an abductee. The government estimates that the number of South Korean civilians taken to the North during the Korean War was approximately 90,000.