Song Gap-seok, Democratic Party Spokesperson, "Will Do Our Best to Resolve Jeju 4·3 Uprising"

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Song Gap-seok, spokesperson for the Democratic Party of Korea, announced on the 3rd that he will do his best to completely resolve the Jeju 4·3 Incident on its 72nd anniversary.

In a written briefing that day, Spokesperson Song said, “We pray for the souls of the 4·3 martyrs and offer our deepest condolences to the surviving victims and bereaved families,” adding, “We will do our best to uncover the truth of 4·3 and restore honor.”

He continued, “From April 72 years ago, over seven years, about 30,000 people, equivalent to one-tenth of Jeju’s population, lost their lives, and the survivors had to live as if dead due to the guilt-by-association system and social stigma,” reflecting, “4·3 was a taboo.”

He also emphasized, “Citizens eventually rose up to find the ‘names’ for those who were not remembered by anyone and who endured the tragedy alone, and democracy responded. The government has made efforts such as the 4·3 Special Act for Truth Investigation and the Jeju 4·3 Committee established under the Kim Dae-jung administration, the first official apology by President Roh Moo-hyun in 2003, and the designation of April 3 as a national memorial day in 2014.”

Spokesperson Song also mentioned the “Additional Truth Report on the Jeju 4·3 Incident” published ahead of the 72nd anniversary by the Moon Jae-in administration.

He said, “It has been about 17 years since the first report published in October 2003 by the Roh Moo-hyun administration,” adding, “A full survey was conducted on 165 villages based on the 4·3 period, confirming a cumulative total of 14,442 victims as of 2019. Twenty-six cases of mass killings were also uncovered.”

Furthermore, he stressed, “However, there is still work to be done for the complete truth investigation, restoration of honor, compensation issues, and the establishment of a trauma healing center, which is one of the Moon Jae-in administration’s 100 national tasks, to fully resolve 4·3.”

He added, “We will do our best to thoroughly reveal the truth of 4·3 and restore honor until the residents of Jeju say, ‘There is nothing more to wish for.’ We will remember the victims who were forgotten without even a name and find them to reunite them with their bereaved families.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.