Truth commission previously tried to blame South Korea for unknown deaths
New research confirmed for the first time that the North Korean army committed genocide against roughly 1,000 Korean Christians during the Korean War.
The South Korean state-run Truth and Reconciliation Commission released a report on Tuesday titled “Persecution and genocide against Christians before and after the Korean War.” The commission found that the genocide was carried out at the order of the North Korean government at that time. It said it found a total of 1,145 people were killed, including 1,026 Protestants and 119 Catholics.
According to the report, the North Korean government ordered a “retreat after getting rid of the reactionary forces,” on September 26, 1950, a few days after United Nations forces landed at Incheon after North Korea’s invasion. The report said that genocide against ordinary people, including Christians, occurred around that time, when North Korea retreated after the UN’s intervention.
A total of 66 people who were family members of 16 Christians attending the Byungchon Church in Nonsan, South Chungcheong, were killed by the North Korean army and members of the communist party. The report found some testimonies from the incident that said “communists threatened people that they will kill them if they believe in Jesus Christ and they beat them up.” It also said “there was a mother who died while holding her infant child on her breast.”
The commission also found the dead bodies of some 15 Christians in a well at the Mankyung Church in Kimje, North Jeolla. They were either stabbed or hit in the head with hammers.
The commission also said that North Korea burned 167 people, including an elder from the local church and right-wing activists who were locked in a detention center in North Jeolla on September 27, 1950. An 11-year-old child was murdered for not telling the North Korean army about where their parents were hiding.
“It was a purge prepared ahead of the time instead of an accidental massacre,” the commission said. “It was because of their policy to persecute Christians after framing them as rebel forces.” In fact, South Korean Christians made it clear that they are against communism by prioritizing the values of democracy and human rights starting from the 1920s. “Due to this, North Korea and left-wing figures in South Korea tried to persecute Christians after framing them as pro-America and anti-communism since the liberation of Korea [from the Japanese colonialization].”
In fact, North Korea’s founder Kim Il-sung, the grandfather of the current dictator Kim Jong-un, publicly ordered the “prosecution of those with bad criminal records and those believing in vicious religions” in July 1950. The commission explained that Christianity was among those “vicious religions.”
“Persecution against Christians was conducted by official orders from the North Korean authority,” the commission said. “The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea [North Korea] committed mass murder against Christians that did not follow judicial due process. It was similar to hunting them on the site.”
The report also found that some Christians decided to forgive North Korea’s persecution instead of taking revenge on them. According to the report, a church in North Jeolla forgave the perpetrators and converted them to Christianity.
The commission acquired testimonies and documents from August to December last year. The research team visited locations where the persecution occurred to verify people’s testimonies. “It is meaningful that the government-run institution confirmed for the first time persecution and genocide against Christians and other believers by the enemy,” said Kim Kwang-dong, a senior researcher who participated in the commission’s investigation. “We will try to actively find ways to compensate victims, restore their honors, and reveal the truth behind it.”
The Munhwa Ilbo newspaper ran an editorial on Tuesday saying it is meaningful that a government-run institution confirmed the persecution against Christians by North Korea.
“It is the role of the government of the Republic of Korea to hold the North Korean government responsible for its actions according to international law,” the editorial read. “The truth commission previously had the rebellious stance that a victim of the perpetration can write down the South Korean Army or police as perpetrators if the individual cannot identify the exact perpetrator who participated in wrongdoings led by North Korea.”
“The government should revise the policy related to compensating such victims,” the editorial argued. “They are compensating people who were victims of the South Korean Army and police, while excluding those from receiving compensation if they were killed by the North Korean Army or communists, saying that the South Korean government is not responsible for such incidents. This policy can be another rebellious policy.”
Recently, the South Korean government was revealed to have not paid any compensation to the families of victims killed by North Korean soldiers and rebel forces during the Korean War. Instead, some people who joined the North Korean army and guerilla groups in South Korea are receiving significant monetary compensation, another sign of the Moon Jae-in administration’s pro-North inclination.
According to Rep. Kim Yong-pan from the main opposition People Power Party, there were many families who first applied to receive compensation by saying that their relatives were killed by the North Korean forces who were rejected and then reapplied, saying their relatives were victims of South Korean forces. Kim also pointed out that the government-run Truth and Reconciliation Commission appears to guide people to receive compensation this way.
The commission’s Q&A section on its homepage says the following.
“Q47. Can I write down the South Korean army, police, and others if I cannot identify the perpetrator?”
“Yes, that is correct. You can write the South Korean army, police, and others if you have difficulty in identifying the perpetrator.”
Rep. Kim argued that this is nonsense. “If someone cannot identify the perpetrator, they should be instructed to write down ‘unknown,’ but the commission totally excluded the possibility of hostile forces such as the North Korean army being the perpetrator,” he said.
According to Kim, one family received compensation by saying their family member was killed by the South Korean army. It was later found out that he was the victim of abduction by the North Korean army.
“People are receiving compensation by replacing the perpetrators (as being) from the South Korean army (rather than) the North Korean army,” said Kim. “Due to this, we are experiencing a strange situation where the number of victims killed by North Korea falls, while the number of victims of the South Korean army grows.”
