The Current Situation and Challenges

Concerning Human Rights of the Korean War Abductees

by Lee, Mi-il

President, Korean War Abductees’ Family Union (KWAFU)

Summary

North Korea’s actions of targeting and abducting South Korean civilians in an organized manner under prearranged plans during the time of invasion in South Korea clearly correspond with characteristics of a war crime.  This sort of act is evidently different from general aspects of war casualties.  Existing analytical statistics on rosters of the Korean War abductees, their related documents, and testimonies of family members of the abductees more clearly reveal that such a war crime was indeed intentionally committed by North Korea.

Despite these obvious evidences and supporting documents which date back to the time of the Korean War and the aftermath of the armistice agreement, North Korea has persistently denied its crimes, simply saying that, "we have not abducted anyone." The United Nations’ preference for a prompt conclusion of armistice agreement negotiations, as opposed to a delay, was triggered by talks on repatriation which North Korea refused and made difficult.  The usage of inappropriate terminology of ‘displaced civilians’ during the negotiations, rather than ‘abductees’, eventually contributed to the failure of repatriation of many South Korean civilians.

After undergoing intense ideological conflicts, the government of the Republic of Korea (ROK), whose ruling ideology centered on protection of free democracy with anti-communism firmly rotted, took missteps in addressing the abductee issue.  Instead of making efforts to repatriate its people who were abducted to North Korea, the ROK government infringed human rights by merely watching the abductees’ families, who remained in South Korea, and restricting their rights.

Furthermore, the governments of Kim Dae Jung and Roh Moo-hyun looked away from the existence of the Korean War abductees due to political considerations while they advocated the Sunshine Policy towards North Korea. A majority of the Korean War abductees were targeted by North Korea because they contributed to the establishment of the ROK. The government of Roh Moo Hyun, however, did establish a special law only concerning those abductees in the aftermath of the Korean War and discriminated against the human rights of the Korean War abductees on the grounds that it would be difficult to address the war abductee issue.

It is an urgent issue for the ROK government to enact special laws sooner, rather than later, so that the impaired honor of the Korean War abductees, who have suffered from human rights infringements and discrimination due to political stances of the previous governments of the ROK,  may be restored. Additionally, a special and exclusive committee of experts under the Office of the President or Prime Minister should be established in order to make more effective efforts to verify whether the abductees are still alive, to enable exchange of letters with them, and to eventually repatriate them. These efforts should accompany various strategies that can accommodate and complement many different situations as well as potential solutions involving direct negotiations with North Korea, the Six Party Talks, and international diplomacy. These combined steps must continue to be developed and propelled with persistent will to maximize the efforts to resolve challenges to improving the relationship between the South and North.

I. Introduction

The human rights issues concerning those abducted to North Korea during the Korean War stem from the fact that no single person has been repatriated since more than 80,000 South Korean civilians were taken to the North by force immediately after the invasion of North Korea in June, 1950.

North Korea, even after signing the armistice agreement, abducted a total of 3,795 people, and out of them, 480 people still have not come back to South Korea. This paper will mainly discuss those people who were abducted to North Korea during the Korean War.

Generally speaking, damages and casualties caused to numerous unspecified civilians under the unique circumstances of a war are considered to be accidental and uncontrollable, and therefore, they do not inevitably correspond with human rights violations. However, despite a war situation, acts of targeting specific civilians and harming them are war crimes that are not only forbidden even in terms of international law, but also anti-humanitarian human rights infringements.

For nearly six decades, families of the war abductees have had to endure the immense pain of uncertainty and anxiety concerning their loved ones without even knowing whether they are still alive or not. Although there have been countless eye witnesses of abductions, the North Korean government has so far simply denied and negated the abduction issue. It has always been innocent civilians who fall victim of ideological conflicts and polarization. This paper intends to shed light on actual events and cases of North Korea’s abduction of South Korean civilians in order to assess whether the abductions should be seen as general war casualties or specific war crimes. In addition, looking into the human rights situation of the abductees in light of the fact that no single person has been repatriated due to a lack of systemic efforts, this paper will discuss what needs to be done in order to solve the current challenges and problems in the abductee issues.

II. North Korea’s Abduction of South Korean Civilians

1. Cause of the Korean War Abduction

Following liberation from Japanese ruling on August 15, 1945, the Korean peninsula was divided into the free and democratic South Korea and the communist North Korea along the 38th parallel. Confiscating private land and wealth, Kim Il-sung in North Korea suppressed and purged landlords, religious groups, and pro-Japanese collaborators, along with many other groups that were viewed as impediments to the Communist ruling ideology.

This cleaning up resulted in brain drains and a lack of human capital as about 3,000,000 people, including intellectuals and the leadership class, migrated to South Korea to survive.

As North Korea continued to lose talented human capital that was necessary for its nation building, Kim Il-sung made an official instruction to take intellectuals from South Korea. In compliance with this instruction, North Korea drew up a list of South Korean people that it would target and bring to North Korea, and even before provoking the Korean War, the North began to engage in approaching the targeted people in South Korea to win them over. However, most South Korean intellectuals were not deceived by the North because they already knew what was really going on from those people who had escaped from the North.

Kim, Il-Sung, "About Bringing Intellectuals from South Korea," 『Kim Il-Sung Collection 4』, PP. 66-69

2. North Korea’s Abduction during the Korean War

It has been revealed that at an early stage of the Korean War, the government of South Korea falsely informed its civilians of the war situation, saying that the South was winning against the enemy. South Korea’s demolition of the Han River Bridge, which was the only evacuation route to further South, forced many South Korean civilians to remain behind enemy lines.

This situation allowed North Korea to succeed in abducting many intellectuals, public servants, politicians, technical experts, and leaders of various sectors that the North needed.  These abductions occurred mainly during the three month period from June 28, when North Korea occupied Seoul, to September 28, when the U.N. forces took back the city. In addition, many South Korean youths were also taken to North Korea as compulsory laborers for military. This situation allowed North Korea to succeed in abducting many intellectuals, public servants, politicians, technical experts, and leaders of various sectors that the North needed. These abductions occurred mainly during the three month period from June 28, when North Korea occupied Seoul, to September 28, when the U.N. forces took back the city. In addition, many South Korean youths were also taken to North Korea as compulsory laborers for military.

There exist five (5) different lists, from which all duplicates have been eliminated thereby arriving at 96,013 as the number of abductees. Analysis of this number corresponded with the aforementioned cases were true. Those people who were abducted and taken to North Korea during the first three months after the beginning of the Korean War accounted for 88.2%, and among them, 98.1% were men. 85% of the abductees were between the ages of 16 to 35, and around 80% of the abductees were abducted at their homes or in the vicinity of home.

① List of Seoul Area Victims, 12/1/1950, Office of Public Information, the first list of the kind, listing 4,616 victims abducted, killed or missing including 2,438 abductees. ② Korean War Abductee List, 2,316 victims, Korean War Abductee Family Assn ③ Korean War Abductee List, 82,959 victims, Korean government, 1952, the first nationwide list ④ List of Abductees Caused by the Korean War, 17,940 victims excluding non-family heads such as young singles, Nat'l Police Hqs, 1954 ⑤ List of Registration of Displaced Civilians, 7,034 abductees, KNRC, 1956

3) Kim, Myoung Ho, "A Study on Positive Analysis of the Situation Concerning the Korean War Abductees" 『Historical Records on the Korean War Abduction』Volume 1. (Korean War Abductees Research Institute, 2006) pp.1114~1149

Those who were abducted and taken to North Korea during the first three months following outbreak of the Korean War accounted for 88.2%, and among them, 98.1% were men.  85% of the abductees were between the ages of 16 to 35, and around 80% of the abductees were abducted at their homes or in their vicinity. Also, there were 169 lawmakers and politicians, 190 judicial officers, 2,919 administrative public employees, 1,613 policemen, 863 professors and teachers, 2,836 technicians, 582 medical staffers, 388 directors of private enterprises, and 107 people who were engaged in cultural affairs. These statistics reveal that North Korea targeted South Korean civilians in an intensively organized manner. This makes North Korea’s abduction of South Korean civilians entirely different from other general war casualties caused by uncontrollable force during a war circumstance. North Korea took advantage of the wartime situation and committed the crime of intentional abduction.

The fact that North Korea abducted non-combatant South Korean civilians can even be verified with North Korean documents. As explained previously, besides the fact that intellectuals and leading figures were taken to North Korea under prearranged plans, many laborers and technicians were also transferred to North Korea so that they could be put into compulsory material production and restoration work for industrial, as well as agricultural sites.  According to a secret Russian document, declassified in the 2000s, translated originally from a North Korean document, 「Decision No.18 of the North Korean Military Committee」 "in order to deal with the food shortage in Seoul, 500,000 people will be transferred to North Korea’s agricultural and industrial sites."

First found by Kimura Mizhiko Professor of Aoyama Gakuin University, Japan; 『Historical Records on the Korean War Abduction』Volume 1. Copy of Russian Document (Korean War Abductees Research Institute, 2006) pp. 962~967

The compulsory transferring of South Korean civilians can be also confirmed by a publication by historian Kim Sung-chil. Along with the records that show people in Seoul suffered from a severe food shortage after North Korea took away all the food, leaving only a small amount of food for a few days and stopped food rationing, the publication reveals that in compliance with an instruction that the number of people in Seoul would be reduced by 500,000, those people who were ordered to transfer left their homes within a couple of hours.

Kim, Sung-chil, 『Before History』(Changbi Publishers, Inc.1993) p97

According to another North Korean document published on Sept. 5, 1950, 「Requesting cooperation on transferring Seoul citizens」 document No. GangWonNae #3440, "efforts should be made immediately to arrest those who refuse or escape from North Korea’s recruitment plan as many projects require liberated Seoul citizens. People unable to work should not be transferred to North Korea." These instructions show that the recruitment was not voluntary based, but compulsory. Besides, there are other North Korean documents proving North Korean abduction.

『Historical Records on North Korea』Volume 16, pp.160~161

『Historical Records on the Korean War Abduction』Volume 1. (Korean War Abductees Research Institute, 2006) pp. 901~938

U.S. State Department documents also confirm North Korea's abduction of South Korean civilians. Oct. 11, 1950 US Embassy telegram 「on Seoul situation」presented a relatively detailed report regarding North Korea’s large scale abduction of South Korean civilians. According to the report, "more than 10,000 to at least 20,000 political offenders who had been imprisoned disappeared from Seoul between September 17th and 28th.  In Seodaemun and Mapo prisons, many prisoners were forcibly taken away with their hands tied and in groups.

『Historical Records on South Korea and North Korea Relationship』Volume 16, (National Institute for Korean History, 1995) pp.406~407

The report also indicated whom, how many, and in what ways North Korea abducted South Korean civilians. According to the document, "during the last several days of occupying South Korea, the Communist party intensely focused on transferring as many people as possible to North Korea on a large scale. Along with youths who were able to transport weapons, those transferred people included pastors, musicians, government employees, and businessmen who were loyal to the government of Republic of Korea."

Another document, a report from the U.S. Embassy in Korea, October 19, 1950, to the U.S., titled 「Communist atrocities against Korean Civilians in Seoul」 offered details by taking examples of people’s courts, public executions, slaughtering, and abductings. Particularly, noting a list of those well known people abducted to North Korea, the document reported on the situation concerning the abduction. Besides these documents, testimonies of those people who were abducted but later escaped also confirm the crime of abduction committed by North Korea.

『Historical Records on South Korea and North Korea Relationship』Volume 12, (National Institute for Korean History, 1995) pp.39~48   pp.951~961

『Historical Records on the Korean War Abduction』Volume 1. (Korean War Abductees Research Institute, 2006) pp.587~614

3. Definition of the Korean War Abductees and Size of Civilian Abductees

In order to gauge the number of those who were abducted by North Korea during the Korean War, the definition of abductees is necessary. It would be reasonable to define the Korean abductees as those South Korean civilians who were taken to North Korea by force from territories occupied by South Korea, but whose death has not been verified since the abduction.

The governments of Kim Dae Jung and Roh Moo-hyun insisted that the lists of the abductees made by previous governments not be trusted on the grounds that there have been considerable discrepancies regarding the number of abductees among the lists that have become available.  In addressing this concern and ensuring the credibility of the list, it would be useful to explain the background of the lists and look into the number of South Korean civilians who were abducted to North Korea during the Korean War.

The first document of this kind was "List of Seoul Area Victims"prepared by the Office of Public Information Statistics Bureau on December 1, 1950, which gives personal information on a total of 4,616 persons broken down into three categories; 2,438 abducted, 1,202 missing and 976 killed.  These are limited figures as the document focused on well known people around the Seoul area as the title of the list implies. These numbers were also quoted in a classified report prepared by the then U.S. ambassador Muccio and the numbers also included a list of 2,527 people around Seoul that was made by an organization of the abductees’ families. In the report, the ambassador said he would urge the South Korean government to make lists of abductees for the rest of the provinces in addition to Gyeonggi-do and Gyeongsangbuk-do. In relation to this record, the first nationwide list of the abductees, which was based on actual surveys and investigations, was published by the ROK government in 1952. A total of 5 volumes contain personal records of 82,959 abductees by Seoul and each province. These documents were prepared in a hurry in the middle of the Korean War so that requests for repatriating those abductees could be made during the armistice negotiations. Consequently, a considerable number of the abductees were not listed.

『Foreign Relations of the United States』 1951 Vol.Ⅶ, Korea and China, Part 1, pp.1376, 1377

Korean War Abductee List, 82,959 victims, (Seoul: 18,330), (GyeongGi: 15,871), (Chungbuk: 6,166), (Chungnam: 9,972), (Cheonbuk: 7,013), (CheonNam: 3,554), Gyeongbuk: 7,483), (Gyeongnam: 1,805), (GangWon: 10,422), (Supplemental: 2,298)

Another government list prepared in 1954 by the National Police Hqs. reported only 17,940 people due to the list’s exclusion of young singles. However, with an exception of Chung Cheongbuk-do, many single youths were included in the list, making it hard to consider the list complete and reliable.

A list prepared by the Korean National Red Cross (KNRC) in 1956 based on a survey conducted during the two-month period from June 15 to August 15 used the term ‘displaced civilians’ instead of ‘abductees.’ The list was made based on inquiries received from the abductees’ families, which the KNRC verified, and the purpose of making the list was to obtain information from the North on the abductees. Reasons for low rates of the abductees’ families’ responses include exclusion of those other than those who had contributed to the nation building, lack of easy access to the Red Cross for submitting inquiries, short period for submission, lack of public awareness and promotion regarding the inquiries. Many families of abductees in regions other than Seoul simply did not know about this.

Inquiries on Abductees to Begin from the 15th by the KNRC, Chosun Daily p2, 6/8/56

The six telegrams exchanged between the headquarters of the U.N. armed forces and the U.S. Embassy in South Korea contributed to drawing up a specific list of the abductees that would be presented to North Korea during the armistice negotiations. The telegrams themselves are additional important documents that provide a number of South Korean civilians who were taken to North Korea by force.

『Historical Records on South Korea and North Korea Relationship』Volume 12, (National Institute for Korean History, 1995) pp.89~95

A telegram, Jan. 4, 1952, sent by the U.S. ambassador Muccio to the UNC reported that the Ministry of Home Affairs had drawn up a roster containing information including names, birthplaces, ages, dates and places of the abduction for total of 126,325 abductees. This roster was divided into three groups; abducted(126, 325), drafted for compulsory labor (73,613), volunteered for the North Korean Army (16,240). This roster has an important value on the ground that it was able to distinguish spontaneity from coercion. As evidenced by the telegram, the list was certainly drawn up, but has not been discovered.

The Statistical Bureau of the Office of Public Information reported a total number of 84,532 abductees in 1953. Although a roster which can support this number has not been discovered, the number is considered to be the most reliable among various statistics as it was reported after the ceasefire.

『Statistics Almanac, Republic of Korea』, Ministry of Home Affairs Bureau of Statistics, 1953, p213

Summing-up of various rosters prepared during the Korean War presents 110,085 as the most reliable number of wartime abductees, while the summary of lists prepared after the signing of the armistice gives us 84,523. Unfortunately, the rosters have not been found, although they are believed to be stored in some places like archives of the United Nations or in the United States. In resolving abductee issues, a prompt recovery of these rosters is an important task for the future. One of the reasons why the number of abductees decreased drastically after the signing of the armistice was because of the fact that some of the POWs in the hands of the UN forces were released as they had been forced draftees into the North Korean army.

4. Reasons for North Korea’s Abduction of South Korean Civilians during the Korean War

North Korea abducted South Korean civilians for the following reasons: First, North Korea lacked intellectuals and technicians that would be needed for its nation building after the war. Also, the North needed sufficient manpower to conduct the war. Second, North Korea intended to create an unfavorable environment for South Korea’s reconstruction after the Korean War by creating a vacuum of intellectuals and leadership in reconstruction. Third, North Korea aimed to propagandize its political superiority by disguising the abductions as voluntary migration to North Korea.

III. Failed Efforts to Repatriate the War Abductees

The following section will discuss what kinds of efforts have been made over the past years in order to repatriate more than 80,000 abductees and why those efforts have failed.

1. Problems During the Truce Talks

Armistice talks for the Korean War had been protracted by the tight division of opinions between the U.N. side and the Communist side, causing many ups and downs. The U.N. preferred a swift conclusion of the armistice talks and worried that talks on repatriation of the abductees would not be without delays and problems. A secret U.S. telegram dated December 11, 1951 suggested a political stance that "the abductee issue should be item 4 on the truce negotiations, but in case the talks would get delayed, the issue would be relegated to item 5."

『Foreign Relations of the United States』 1951 Vol.Ⅶ, Korea and China, Part 1, pp.1299~1301

North Korea disclosed its willingness to release foreign civilians whom "it was protecting and detaining in North Korea." However, North Korea persistently denied any cases of taking South Korean civilians to the North even in response to the UN's statement that "those detained in North Korea" and "when your forces penetrated deep into the Republic of Korea, many of these civilians were swept northward in what might be termed the backlash of war," which itself did not have any nuance of forced abduction.

『Historical Records on South Korea and North Korea Relationship』5, Records on Armistice    Negotiation Fourth Item pp. 171, (National Institute for Korean History, 1994)

『Historical Records on South Korea and North Korea Relationship』5, Records on Armistice Negotiation Fourth Item p307 (National Institute for Korean History, 1994)

『Historical Records on South Korea and North Korea Relationship』5, Records on Armistice Negotiation Fourth Item p331, (National Institute for Korean History, 1994)

Continuing to be stubborn, North Korea even accused the U.N. of taking away hundreds of thousands people with false propaganda of nuclear bombs, using the term of abduction twice.

『Historical Records on South Korea and North Korea Relationship』5, Records on Armistice Negotiation Fourth Item pp. 190, 384, (National Institute for Korean History, 1994)

『Historical Records on South Korea and North Korea Relationship』5, Records on Armistice Negotiation Fourth Item pp. 187, 193, (National Institute for Korean History, 1994)

Facing North Korea’s stubborn objection during the talks on the abductee issue, the U.N. took a step back and first started to use the terminology of "displaced civilians," instead of abductees. The two sides eventually concluded and signed the armistice without properly resolving the abductee issue. They delayed the settlement by agreeing that a cooperative committee for displaced civilians would be later formed. Following the agreement, North Korea repatriated only 19 foreigners, saying that "there is no single South Korean civilian who wants to be repatriated." As the U.N. did not take any particular objection to this, repatriating 80,000 South Korean civilian abductees ended up as a failure.  In contrast, 55 foreign civilians were all repatriated via Moscow with North Korea’s cooperation and the U.N.’s active efforts.

Historical Records on South Korea and North Korea Relationship』5, Records on Armistice Negotiation Fourth Item p307, (National Institute for Korean History, 1994)

"No Repatriation of Displaced Civilians" The Chosun Ilbo, March 3, 1954

24) "Problem Concerning Repatriation of Displaced Civilians," The Dong-A Ilbo, December 8, 1953 Editorial

2. Lack of South Korea’s Political Will to Repatriate Its Abducted People

At the time of the truce talks, the government of South Korea lacked responsibility in protecting its people. In response to appeals for repatriating the abductees by their families, the government said that it would not ask for repatriation in light of North Korea’s objection to the armistice talks. The U.N. was also passive in responding to such appeals, saying that the appeals should be made to the government of South Korea who should be the one to actively deal with them.

"Destination of the 80,000 Abductees" (Kim Kwang-gun) The Dong-A Ilbo 2-3, May 4, 1953

Ibid.

After the armistice, the government of South Korea asked for the help of the International Red Cross.  Active endeavors made by the Korean Red Cross and the International Red Cross resulted in receiving news about 337 abductees in November 1957. However, no further progress had been made due to considerable skepticism over such efforts, which was further intensified by anti-communism.

"No Budget for Displaced Civilians?" The Chosun Ilbo September 20, 1960

It was November 1964 when the government of South Korea made its last request to the U.N. concerning the abductee issue. No particular endeavors have been made since then as the government has believed that the best way to resolve the abductee issue is to strengthen the economy and achieve eventual reunification with the North.

"Request to the U,N. for the 84,000 abductees," The Chosun Ilbo November 11, 1964

South Korea has now become the world’s 13th largest economy while North Korea has undergone the collapse of its economy that has starved 3,000,000 people since 1994. Since 2000, the governments of Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun, which advocated the Sunshine Policy, had focused on economic assistance to North Korea and did not call for resolving the abductee issue. In numerous talks with North Korea, a vague term like "people whose contact got lost during the Korean War" was used instead of the term of the abductees. As a result, there was no single case of successful repatriation other than repeating an agreement on the efforts to verify the abductees’ presence and whereabouts.

IV. Current Human Rights Conditions for the Abductees

Human rights are a universal value for all human beings. Everyone has the right to live with dignity that should be respected, and the reason for a nation’s existence lies in protecting its citizens’life and human rights.

North Korea has destroyed more than 80,000 families by separating South Korean civilians from their families and taking them to the North by force and against their will, and deprived them of their human rights. In time of war, the limit of human rights caused by the warfare is irresistible and uncontrollable. Abduction of South Korean civilians to North Korea, however, could not be justified as a special wartime situation because it was an intentional criminal action that violated human rights.

North Korea abducted intellectuals and people with leadership, brought them to the North, and put them into centers which forced education of the Communist ideology so that they turned loyal to North Korea. Those who did not obey the Communist party were put into prison and ended their lives out in misery. Even worse, such evil conduct by North Korea was not stopped and properly prohibited by the international community. After the armistice, North Korea turned those abducted youths into spies and sent them back to South Korea, making them serve as tools for achieving North Korea’s objectives. In addition, North Korea continued to abduct civilians of South Korea, Japan, and other countries as it needed. It is not hard to imagine that human rights do not exist in North Korea.

『Historical Records on the Korean War Abduction』Volume 1. (Korean War Abductees Research Institute, 2006) pp. 1020~1041

After intense ideological conflicts, the government of South Korea upheld anticommunism as part of its ruling ideology to protect its free democracy from North Korea and other Communist countries. This situation resulted in infringements of human rights as the government watched and restricted various rights of the abductees’ families who remained in South Korea.

Furthermore, the governments of Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun looked away from the existence of the abductees due to political considerations while they advocated the Sunshine Policy towards North Korea. A majority of the abductees were targeted by North Korea because they contributed to the establishment of the ROK with royalty, and they subsisted with an equal weight of the pain over a longer period of time. However, the government of Roh Moo-hyun established a limited special law only concerning the abductees in the aftermath of the Korean War and discriminated against the human rights of the Korean War abductees on the grounds of difficulties in addressing the Korean War abductee issue. If there had been any political will over the past 60 years, it would have been possible to enact special laws that aim to restore the impaired honor of those abducted during the Korean War. Nevertheless, it is fortunate that in recent years the National Human Rights Commission urged the government to grasp the current situation concerning human rights infringements of the Korean War abductees and to establish special laws for restoring their honor, as well as making appropriate compensation. However, on the grounds that it is hard to grasp the size of the war abductees and damage done to them, the government of Roh Moo Hyun established a special law only for those abducted after the Korean War.

V. Remaining Tasks and Conclusion

1. Establishment of Special Laws Concerning the Korean War Abductees

The majority of those who were abducted to North Korea contributed to the founding of the Republic of Korea, and because of their loyalty, they were targeted by North Korea.

Korea is now one of the world’s economic powers and is about to enter into the status of an advanced nation.  It is time to resolve issues of human rights infringements and discrimination concerning the Korean War abductees. More than other things, after looking into the current situation on damage done by abduction, a detailed roster of the abductees that can be presented to North Korea should be drawn up. It is time to end the government’s irresponsible act of delaying the settlement of the abductee issue. It is also a violation of the principle of equity to establish a special law only for those people who were abducted after the Korean War. Special laws for the close examination of the Korean War abduction and the abductees’ honor must be restored sooner rather than later.

2. Installation of an Exclusive Organization for the Korean War Abductees under the Office of President or Prime Minister

It is not an easy task to deal with North Korea in order to resolve the abductee issue, however, the government must continue its effort to repatriate those people who contributed to the founding of the Republic of Korea, and were later abducted to North Korea. The fact that foreign civilian abductees during the Korean War were released and some of the Japanese abductees were repatriated in recent years gives hope to the situation.

The North Korea admission of the abduction and the apology for its misconduct must be put first in resolving the abductee issue. It is an urgent issue for the South Korean government to enact special laws immediately, so that the damaged honor of the Korean War abductees, who have suffered from human rights infringements and discrimination due to political stances of the previous South Korean governments, may be restored. Additionally, a special and exclusive committee of experts under the Office of the President or Prime Minister should be established in order to make more efforts to verify whether the abductees are still alive, to exchange letters with them, and to eventually repatriate them. These efforts should be accompanied with various strategies that can accommodate and complement many different situations as well as potential solutions involving negotiations with North Korea, the Six Party Talks, and international diplomacy. These combined steps must continue to be developed and propelled with persistent will to maximize the efforts to solve problems between South and North Korea.