Estimated dark burial in Byeokje-ri Cemetery, Seoul Metropolitan Government… Recommendation to Ministry of National Defense to exhume remains
In 1980, the facts of the unfair verdict of the military court and the case of the People’s Reporting Federation were also revealed.
The 2nd Truth and Reconciliation Committee (Truth and Reconciliation Committee) announced on the 21st that it had revealed the truth about the secret burial of the remains of Silmido unit workers and the unjust verdict of the military court in 1980.
The remains of Silmido unit workers were buried in March 1972, when four Silmido unit operatives were executed by the Air Force and their bodies arbitrarily buried.
The Central Intelligence Agency and the Air Force established the Silmido unit in 1968 with the aim of infiltrating North Korea.
Twenty-two workers, who received military training for over three years, escaped to Seoul after killing agents during the Air Force raid in 1971.
In the process, 18 workers were killed.
The four survivors were sentenced to death.
As a result of the investigation by the Truth and Reconciliation Committee, the Air Force did not inform their families about the execution even though the four men declared their relationships and family addresses during the investigation and trial.
Even after the execution, the body was buried without being handed over to the family.
The Truth and Reconciliation Committee pointed out that, “This was an illegal act in breach of the Military Criminal Act and the Military Crimes Act Enforcement Decree at the time, and was a gross violation of human rights due to the exercise of public power is illegal. “
The Truth and Reconciliation Witnesses pointed to Byeokje-ri Cemetery at the Seoul Sublimation Center as the most likely place where the Air Force buried them.
Accordingly, the Ministry of National Defense recommended that the burial site be investigated and the remains exhumed until the remains of the agents are handed over to their families.
The ’80 Cases of Unjust Judgment of the Military Court’ took place in October 1978 in the GOP district of Cheorwon-gun, Gangwon-do, where three South Korean soldiers were killed and court-martialled on charges of evading an attack in pursuit of a fugitive. Armed spy from North Korea A soldier referred to (now the Military Court) was found guilty.
According to the Truth and Reconciliation Committee, at the time, the Supreme Court reversed the case twice with the intention of acquitting, saying that the soldier responded by firing a rifle at the spy, and that it was not appropriate to hold the soldier accountable for the operational failure.
However, the Higher Military Court, a lower court, did not accept the decision and upheld the conviction.
On October 27, 1979, when martial law was declared, the soldier could not appeal again and was found guilty.
The Truth and Reconciliation Committee ruled, “The Army’s Superior Military Court made an unfair ruling, emphasizing only the ‘soldier’s mission’ while ignoring the Supreme Court statutes and precedents that determine the binding force of the Supreme Court’s ruling. “
“The applicant (soldier) not only failed to exercise his right to appeal because of the unconstitutional martial law that was declared, but also his freedom to choose a profession was violated by being found guilty of a disgraceful crime.”
The Truth and Reconciliation Committee recommended that the state apologize to the victims and correct the illegal judgment through procedures such as an urgent appeal.
The Truth and Reconciliation Committee also investigated the truth about the National Reporting Federation (an organization formed in 1949 to illuminate left-wing converts) and preliminary arrest cases in Gyeongsan, Gyeongsangbuk-do and Hampyeong, Jeollanam-do.
In Gyeongsan, North Gyeongsang Province, from July to August 1950, 12 civilians were pre-arrested for collaborating with the left or joining the Press Federation, and mass sacrifices were made at the cobalt mine.
In Hampyeong, South Jeolla Province, 33 civilians were detained and killed at the Hampyeong Police Station for joining the Press Association.
The Truth and Reconciliation Committee said that the bereaved families of both cases suffered from social stigma and the system of socialization, and recommended official apologies from state and local governments and the correction of the family relations register.
The Truth and Reconciliation Committee recommended that the state and local governments support the construction of a memorial service and memorial monuments in relation to the ‘sacrifice by hostile forces in Hampyeong, Jeollanam-do.’
This incident is true when 20 civilians were killed by the leftists and partisans in Hampyeong-gun between February 1950 and June 1951, before and after the start of the Korean War.
According to the survey, 75% of the victims were men, and four were children under the age of 15.
/happy news
