Korean War Abductees Research Institute (KWARI) is an independent, non-profit think-tank that conducts research on South Korean civilian abduction during the Korean War, with the broader mission of promoting peace and reunification of the Korean Peninsula, and the protection of human rights.
KWARI was launched on the 55th anniversary of the Korean War, June 25, 2005. Since then, we have been steadily accumulating research and corroborating credible evidence to expose the tragic history concerning the wartime abductees. Our findings include records of oral testimonies from the abductees' family members, several archived rosters of the abducted, official government documents, and volumes of historical sources.

Now we are pleased to present KWARI Report, an ongoing publication that examines current and emerging political and social issues pertaining to the South Korean civilian abduction during the Korean War. Through our research and analysis, we wish to foster more public awareness on the current state of affairs, and to share our findings not only with academia, but also with the international community. To that end, KWARI Report is available in both Korean and English.

For our first volume, we present a law review on the applicability of the term “Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance” with regards to the Korean War abduction, as defined under international law. This thesis, researched by Ms. June Jiyoon Cha JD, investigates the current relevance of an issue that has largely been ignored in history’s shadow, and needs to be brought to light. Appendix I lists legal treatises, and in Appendix II we have included the testimony I submitted at a hearing before a joint-subcommittee in the U.S House Committee on International Relations in 2006.

5 FOREWORD


9 Special Legal Review

Whether the legal concept of "Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance" is applicable to South Korean civilians abducted by North Korea during the Korean War Jiyoon Cha


41 APPENDIX I

International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance

Convention on the Non-Applicability of Statutory Limitations to War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity


63 APPENDIX II

Testimony at U.S. Congress, House Committee on International Relations Mi-Il LEE

During the Korean War, North Korea abducted more than 80,000 South Korean civilians. Although more than half a century has passed, not a single person has been repatriated. For decades, the abductees' family members have long suffered through deep emotional and physical hardships, constantly faced with the cruel uncertainty about the fate and whereabouts of their taken loved ones.
Although thousands of people eye-witnessed the moment when North Korean agents abducted their family member, North Korea has never admitted to any acts of abduction. Despite its appalling nature, the issue of the wartime abduction has not been properly addressed in South Korea due to politicizations. In the clash of two extreme ideologies, innocent civilians became the victims. This article will analyze the Korean War abduction in light of thelegal concept of enforced disappearance enumerated in international law to find out whether the victims of Korean War abduction should be under the protection of international law.


QUESTIONS PRESENTED

I. Whether the legal definition of 'enforced or involuntary disappearances' enumerated in international human rights law, humanitarian law, and customary international law is applicable to the abduction committed by North Korea during the Korean War?

II. Whether the international instruments adopted after the Korean War abduction occurred are applicable?

III. Whether the statute of limitation obstructs the application of the international instruments to the abduction that occurred 56 years ago?


BRIEF ANSWER

The abduction of South Korean civilians by North Korea during the Korean War falls into the definition of enforced disappearance and furthermore constitutes a crime against humanity and a war crime under international human rights law and humanitarian law because South Korean civilians were targeted for abducting due to the lack of intellectuals and labor force in North Korea, and tens of thousands of civilians were abducted from all over the region in a widespread and systematic way. North Korea has not admitted commission of the abduction and accordingly, has left the families of thousands abductees in South Korea without any news about the fate or whereabouts of their loved ones for decades. This is a doubly paralyzing torture for both the victims and the families. Moreover, abduction of civilians is a violation of customary international law. The international community has supported the prohibition of enforced disappearance through numerous international instruments, case law, and acquiescence.
Procedurally, the international instruments adopted after the Korean War are applicable to the abduction not only because the prohibition of abduction was already customary international law at the time of Korean War but also because unresolved disappearances constitute on-going crimes. The statute of limitation is not applicable to the Korean War abduction because the abduction constitutes a crime against humanity and a war crime pursuant to the Convention on the Non-Applicability of Statutory Limitations to War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity.