Abductee: Kim Chong-Ki
Recorded Date: May 10th, 2005


Profile of Abductee

Name: Kim Chong-ki (male)
Date of Birth: Feb. 10, 1909
Place of Birth: Gangneung, Gangwon-do, South Korea
Last Address: 1387-5 Hyoja-dong, Seoul, South Korea
Date of Abduction: August 4th,1950 (age 41)
Place of Abduction: Office of the Seoul Electric Corp. Chungmuro 2-ga, Jung-gu, Seoul
Occupation: President of the Seoul Electric Corp., member of the ROK Youth Corps
Education/Career: High school graduate / president of Koran electric business
Dependents: Wife and 9 children
Appearance/Personality: Height 175cm, wore glasses / gentle nature


Profile of Testifier

Name: Kim Nam-joo (born in 1940)
Relation: Fifth son
Type of Witness: Direct witness


Summary of the Abduction

- Two unidentified men came to the company at Chungmuro at 11 a.m. on August 4th 1950, and searched something and asked to meet the president, right after that three or four North Korean soldiers came to office and took him by his two arms and abducted.
- That night three North Korean soldiers came to house with the abductee seating in their car and searched evidences of his being reactionary, put stickers on every furniture. They also planned to take his grown-up sons but they already escaped.
- The next day of abduction the North Korean came back and took five trucks of company property and one truck of household property.
- It was heard later that Kim Chong-ki had been taken to Seodaemun (West Gate) Prison.
- The abductee was involved in the ROK Youth Corp and president of the Seoul Electric Company and was active in social activities. Among other marks of recognition, he received a Letter of Appreciation from President of ROK, Syng-man Rhee.


Detail of the Abduction

Q. How was the atmosphere around the town at that time?
Very tense and we had seen people taken by force and beaten in front of the crowd and we, then 5th grade primary school children, also beaten by North Korean soldiers.

Q. How old were you then?
12 years old, I was very much beaten. North Korean Army got in Seoul on 27 June and I lived in Hyoja-dong and did not know well what’s going on. They asked me to draw a national flag and I drew the ROK national flag, then they struck me with their feet, they aimed gun at me about 3 times.
After September 28 recovery of Seoul, Korean soldiers arranged town people who acted leftists in front of Blue House (Chongwadae) in Hyoja-dong, people who did not take refuge and stayed in came forward beaten them. Even now the anger still comes back to me. I hate red people, the communists. I don't trust even (the former president) Kim Dae-Jung. They don’t know the real nature of the communists they will never change.
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Q. What times did they have guns aimed at you?
About July summer in 1950, I was playing with friends near Cheongwadae (Blue House), grasses are full grown like this. NK soldiers shoot and asked us to come near, we all trembling crawled near to them and they told “be on your knees” they struck us with a butt plate of rifle, and when I drew a national flag they aimed gun at me.

Q. (You said NK soldiers kept coming to your house to take young men for so-called ‘voluntary
Soldiers’) Wasn’t your mother attacked?
Well, not much. My mother was silent, but my elder brother and I were beaten for rebelling a lot.

Q. Was there a threat?
More than a threat. They were ready to kill us. When we were asked whereabouts of our brothers we knew what they are looking for and gave them the same answer “they went out for food and no more news.”

Q. How often did they come?
Every two or three days they came during the one month time until our father abducted on 4 August. In fact, neighbor communists are more dreadful, because they knew well about our family and acted secret informants.

Q. Do you still remember names of the local leftists?
The man who lived next to us, he had a Japanese name ‘Kanehara’. I know only his Japanese name. He was a leader in taking town people away.

Q. Did you hear news about them since then?
Never, But I heard when we took a refuge on the January 4 Retreat, the leftists of the town came back to Seoul.

Q. How was the situation when your father was abducted?
On the 4th of August 1950, the 5-story building at Chungmuro 5-ga was consisted of the ground floor that was sales part, 2nd floor having an office and the president's room, and other floors being used for storage. Around lunch time, two civilians came and looked for lighting bulb which was not meeting the standard. Then a little while later, a few of NK soldiers came and asked for the president, my father. When he appeared they took him by his arms. I had not seen it. My cousin sister who then worked there saw and informed us.
When the situation got worse, my old brothers thought that night they might come back and prepared to run to Inwang Mountain when it’s dark. About midnight there was a knock on the door, There was no time to escape out of fence, so my brothers ran up to the roof. Ten minutes later I went to the door and NK soldiers aimed guns at me and there was a Jeep car where my father was seated at the back seat. I cried out, “Daddy” but they struck me and my father also gave up coming out. They came in house and began to search everything.

Q. What were they looking for?
My mother assumed a Letter of Appreciation my father received from then President Syng-man Rhee at an Industrial Fair, as evidence of bourgeoisie anti-communist. So my mother put it somewhere in toilet. When they failed to find something similar they left leaving stickers on furniture. Then brothers came down from the roof and tried to find a way out, worried on their other visit. That night they came again. There was a house once-owned by Japanese and now used by the NK soldiers. Our house has storage attic for clothes and we also placed movable clothes storage in front of the attic. Brothers were hiding inside there that night but this time NK soldiers went to up to the roof and asked where they went.
We said that they went out for food since the war, and then they said they saw them on the roof and we said we don't know and they said “We are coming back tomorrow and they should wait for us!” The following day they came with neighbor communists and took about one truck of households. We cried out we need some spoons and rice bowls, really they took everything leaving only spoons and rice bowls. They stayed in the storage for 3 months.

Q. What did they say while abducting your father?
Nothing.

Q. Did you know where they came from?
Yes, I did. they were the North Korean soldiers. They were wearing uniforms, a soldier’s uniform and riding in army jeep.

Q. What was the reason of wanting to take your older siblings?
Their ages were about the age of North Korean Army forces, that's why three brothers and sisters were hiding in a secret storage space.

Q. Were any other family members abducted?
Later on cousins disappeared, whether taken as so-called NK ‘Voluntary Soldier’ that we don't know. It seemed that they were taken as voluntary forces, because since then there was no news of their life and death. The Government said my cousins volunteered to enlist their army but it's not true and it is a false accusation.


Reason behind the Abduction

Q. Why do you think he was abducted?
The abductee was involved in the Rep. of anti-communist Korea Young Men’s Association (a rightist group) and was president of Seoul Electrical Company and was active in social activities; among others, he received a letter of Appreciation from then President of ROK, Syng-man Rhee.


News after the Abduction

Q. Do you know where they took him?
After the outbreak of the Korean War, many neighboring house turned out to be leftists. We implored their help and found out that he was in Soedaemun prison.

Q. Did you try meeting with him?
We went to meet him but not allowed. We confirmed only that those abducted that time stayed in the Seodaemun (West Gate) Prison.

Q. Did you hear anything about him after he was taken?
Yes, I remember him and I met him also in my dream. In 1952 a friend of my father told us the following: he was also abducted and asked my father to escape together but my father was not strong enough to escape. The friend succeeded in escaping and came to us and told that.