Identified Unknown 5·18 Martyr... 'Shin Dong-nam,' Reported Missing Person Found

The scene of exhumation to collect genetic samples of the 'Unknown Martyr' at the National 5·18 Democratic Cemetery on November 19 last year.

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Yoon Jamin] The identity of an unknown martyr buried at the National 5·18 Democratic Cemetery has been confirmed after 41 years.

The 5·18 Democratic Movement Truth Commission announced on the 15th that the identity of Shin Dong-nam, who was reported missing during the 5·18 Democratic Movement, has been confirmed to be the same as the deceased buried at the National 5·18 Democratic Cemetery with the unknown martyr grave number 4-90.

The 5·18 Investigation Committee set the identification of the five unknown deceased buried as "unknown martyrs" among the 5·18 Democratic Movement-related deceased at the National 5·18 Democratic Cemetery as a priority investigation task to confirm the whereabouts of the missing persons.

They reviewed the autopsy records of the deceased and the medical records from hospitals at the time, cross-checked them with the missing person compensation application records, and proceeded with the investigation to identify the subject.

During the nine previous 5·18 truth investigations, the scale and whereabouts of missing persons were investigated only in relation to clandestine burial cases, revealing some limitations in the thoroughness of the investigation.

Therefore, the 5·18 Truth Commission has focused on a multi-layered and three-dimensional investigation to confirm the whereabouts of even a single missing person, as this could affect the investigation results for all other missing persons.

First, they summarized the main contents of the 5·18-related missing persons compensation applications and compiled the "5·18 Missing Victims Compensation Applicants Full Survey Status," and conducted a full survey of medical records, medical bills, and billing details from hospitals located in Gwangju at the time.

They compared and analyzed the autopsy reports of the five unknown deceased and initially identified subjects with similarities.

They analyzed the autopsy reports of the five unknown deceased buried at the 5·18 Democratic Cemetery and compared them with the missing persons reports, considering age, physical characteristics, date and place of death, and cause of death, and cross-checked these with the deceased-related medical records from hospitals.

Finally, they confirmed the possibility that Shin Dong-nam, whose missing person claim was rejected in 1994, and the unknown deceased with grave number 4-90 are the same person.

On November 19 last year, collecting genetic samples from the remains of the 'Unknown Martyr' at the National 5·18 Democratic Cemetery.

The committee's investigation revealed that Shin Dong-nam left the inn where he was staying around May 20, 1980, was shot, and admitted to the Red Cross Hospital where he underwent surgery. The next day, cohabitant A and others visited the Red Cross Hospital after being contacted by a nurse and confirmed Shin Dong-nam, who had a bandage on his abdomen after surgery.

A visited the hospital again that afternoon after participating in a protest, stayed with Shin Dong-nam for about 30 minutes, then left to join the protest again. The next day, upon visiting the hospital, A found that Shin Dong-nam had already died and his body was moved to the morgue, lying alongside other deceased.

When A returned to the morgue on May 22, the body was gone. It was confirmed that the bodies of the deceased from city hospitals were all moved to the Provincial Government Office by the Citizens' Recovery Committee for identification and then placed in the Sangmu Hall, including the body from the Red Cross Hospital.

The unknown deceased with grave number 4-90 was placed in Sangmu Hall around May 24, 1980, by the mother of Lee Geum-young, a related person detained during the 5·18 Democratic Movement, and was buried five days later in Mangwol Municipal Cemetery, Section 3, under Lee Geum-young's name (grave number 47 at the time).

Subsequently, around June 21 of the same year, it was confirmed that Lee Geum-young was alive while detained at Sangmu Base, so the deceased was treated as unknown.

Later, during the genetic testing of 11 unknown remains conducted as part of Gwangju Metropolitan City's "Missing Persons Location Project" in 2001-2002, the unknown deceased was found to have no matching family among four others and was thus buried as an "unknown martyr" (identity unknown) at the National 5·18 Democratic Cemetery, grave number 4-90.

The committee confirmed from the Gwangju Incident Autopsy Report (1980, Gwangju District Prosecutor's Office) that the unknown deceased had "penetrating abdominal wounds and intestinal rupture" recorded as the injury and cause of death, and the autopsy report noted "a gunshot wound recognized as an entry wound on the left and mid-abdomen, a 20 cm surgical scar along the midline, and intestines protruding from the lower abdomen," consistent with the Red Cross Hospital medical record diagnosis of "liver rupture" and the surgical treatment method of laparotomy, a type of skin incision.

The daily medical expense statement attached to the Red Cross Hospital medical bill showed records of treatment and administered drugs from May 20 to 22, 1980, confirming that Shin Dong-nam was admitted on May 20 and died around May 22 at the Red Cross Hospital.

Also, the autopsy location of the body, initially examined under Lee Geum-young's name but treated as unknown, was confirmed to have been conducted at Sangmu Hall on May 28, 1980, according to the Gwangju Incident Autopsy Report, clarifying the movement of Shin Dong-nam's body.

Based on the similarity of the confirmed records and witness statements, genetic analysis was conducted comparing the DNA of the unknown remains at grave number 4-90 with blood samples taken from Shin Dong-nam's younger brother, resulting in 21 out of 23 genetic loci matching.

This level of match meets the criteria considered conclusive by the National Forensic Service and the Ministry of National Defense's Remains Excavation and Identification Team, and the test results were verified by the Department of Forensic Medicine at Chonnam National University, which has been responsible for genetic analysis and identification of 5·18 victims and unknown deceased.

The final stage of the investigation employed both Y-STR genetic testing, which confirms paternal lineage, and SNP genetic testing, which verifies family relationships.

This combined approach scientifically confirmed that the DNA from grave number 4-90 and the missing person Shin Dong-nam share the same father, establishing a father-son relationship and confirming family ties.

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