Remains of Civilians Massacred Discovered in Sejong Return to Families After 70 Years

[Asia Economy (Sejong) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] The remains of civilian victims who perished during the Korean War have returned to their families after 70 years.

According to Sejong City on the 14th, the excavated remains were confirmed to be those of the late Kim Buhan, who was a victim of the Bodo League Incident during the Korean War.

The Bodo League Incident is a massacre presumed to have been carried out by the South Korean Army, military police, and anti-communist groups during the Korean War in 1950, targeting members of the National Bodo League or conscientious objectors and other civilians. The number of victims killed at that time is estimated to be up to 200,000 nationwide.

The reality of this incident was revealed in the late 1990s when victims' remains from the Bodo League massacre were excavated across the country. Furthermore, the government confirmed civilian casualties through the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 2009, which led to a full-scale investigation and excavation of remains.

In connection with this, in 2018, Sejong excavated seven sets of remains presumed to be civilian victims in Biseonggol, Yeongi-gun. Following the excavation of the victims' remains, the city has held annual memorial services and has also pursued identification efforts to console the grievances of the victims.

During this process, the city recently conducted genetic testing on seven sets of remains and two family members, confirming the father-son relationship between the late Kim Buhan and his son Kim Youngwon. Based on these findings, the city explained that the remains were returned to the family after 70 years since the Bodo League Incident occurred.

The remains of the late Kim Buhan had been enshrined at the Memorial House in Jeondong-myeon after excavation, and it is reported that after the handover of the remains, the family interred them together with the spouse at the public cemetery in Jeondong-myeon.

The identification of the late Kim Buhan and the handover to his family is recorded as the first case in the region. In particular, the city emphasized that extracting DNA from remains buried for a long time and matching it with the family’s DNA to identify the victim is highly unusual.

Six other sets of remains excavated alongside the late Kim Buhan, whose identities have not yet been confirmed, are expected to be transferred to the “National Korean War Memorial Facility (under construction)” located in Dong-gu, Daejeon in the future. The memorial facility was selected through a public contest by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, and Daejeon City and Dong-gu Office are promoting its construction.

Lee Chun-hee, Mayor of Sejong City, said, “It is meaningful that we were able to identify the civilian victims through genetic analysis and return the victims to their families. The city will continue to make efforts so that the remains of victims whose families have not yet been found can return to their families as soon as possible.”

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