Is the 6·25 War Dead Remains Promoted Every Year Fake?

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] The Ministry of National Defense's Remains Recovery and Identification Team (hereinafter referred to as the National Recovery Team) is under investigation after suspicions arose that the remains of Korean War casualties they had excavated were fake. Subsequently, the Ministry of National Defense launched an audit. Additionally, an internal officer has been continuously verbally and physically abusing staff, prompting the Ministry of National Defense Investigation Headquarters to begin an inquiry.

According to the Facebook page "Army Training Center Delivered Instead (hereinafter YookDaeJeon)" on the 28th, there have been multiple reports recently that the National Recovery Team manipulated the remains of fallen soldiers to increase their excavation achievements. In response, YookDaeJeon revealed these suspicions on their YouTube channel the day before, stating, "Multiple whistleblowers have reported such claims, and we have obtained several testimonies that can prove these allegations."

YookDaeJeon claimed, "At the excavation site in the area of Army A Division in the front lines of Gangwon Province, even just digging with a hoe uncovers friendly artifacts such as M1 rifle shell casings. They collected artifacts from various places and scattered them near the remains when excavated to deceive others into believing they were remains of Korean War soldiers." They also reported, "On one occasion, after scattering friendly artifacts on excavated remains, further digging revealed that the remains were actually cremated, leading to the cessation of the determination as war casualties."

They added, "Artifacts collected from Geumsan were stored and later scattered at the remains excavation site in Chilgok, Gyeongbuk to dispose of them. There are also suspicions that a member of the remains excavation team in Army B Division, which spans Gyeonggi and Gangwon provinces, secretly kept teeth excavated through unauthorized digging."

In response, the Ministry of National Defense stated that they will verify the authenticity through an audit and take strict measures according to regulations if violations are identified.

Within and outside the military, given the high level of interest such as President Moon Jae-in personally presiding over the repatriation ceremony of Korean War remains, there is speculation that the number of remains excavated may have been falsified to aid promotions. It is believed that the number of remains excavated was promoted as an opportunity to advance in rank. According to the Ministry of National Defense, since the Korean War remains excavation project began in April 2000, a total of about 12,000 remains have been excavated up to the end of last year, with 166 identified as confirmed casualties.

The Ministry of National Defense Investigation Headquarters has also launched an investigation into the abusive behavior of Director A of the National Recovery Team. Director A is accused of verbal and physical abuse of employees as well as embezzlement of public funds such as company dinner expenses. However, since Major B, a whistleblower, is also scheduled to be booked next week, there are criticisms that this may be a retaliatory investigation.

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