[Exclusive] "Please grant my wish"... A letter from a Korean War POW sent to President Yoon

Korean War POW Grandfather Kim Seong-tae's Letter to President Yoon
"If I die, I wish to be buried in Seoul National Cemetery" Earnest Appeal
Park Seon-young "A Long-Held Wish... Hoping to Attend Memorial Day Ceremony"

"This old man's last wish is... to be buried in the Seoul National Cemetery."

Kim Seong-tae (91), a Korean War POW who is over ninety years old, wrote a handwritten letter to President Yoon Suk-yeol. He is a war veteran who was captured by North Korean forces during the Korean War and returned after more than 50 years of captivity. He is currently pursuing a damages lawsuit against Kim Jong-un.

A handwritten letter from Kim Seong-tae, a North Korean defector and former South Korean POW, to President Yoon Suk-yeol. Grandfather Kim earnestly appealed, saying, "My last wish is to be buried in the Seoul National Cemetery after I die."
[Photo by Mulmangcho Corporation]

According to the letter obtained by Asia Economy on the 24th, Grandpa Kim appealed to President Yoon, saying, "I am 92 years old this year, and my remaining life is short," and "This old man's last wish is to be buried in the honorable grounds of the National Cemetery in Dongjak-dong after I die." He repeatedly requested, "I would even accept exhumation (due to reburial, resulting in an empty grave). Please grant my wish."

The letter is scheduled to be sent to President Yoon soon through the nonprofit organization Mulmangcho, which has been conducting research and activities for Korean War POWs. Grandpa Kim, who is frail to the point of difficulty moving, reportedly struggled to hold a pen and wrote each word carefully. After firmly writing his military service number '1105214' assigned 55 years ago, he stamped his seal filled with scars from his time as a POW instead of a fingerprint.

National cemeteries fall under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs, but the Seoul National Cemetery is exceptionally managed under the Ministry of National Defense. To be interred in the National Cemetery, one must be recognized as a 'meritorious person,' but under current law, Korean War POWs are classified as veterans, not meritorious persons. Therefore, the number of Korean War POWs resting in the National Cemetery is not separately counted. However, in Grandpa Kim's case, he is expected to meet the merit requirements such as 'more than 20 years of military service.'

A government official said, "Although the Seoul National Cemetery is said to be full, precedents show that space can be made as needed," adding, "If a surviving Korean War POW with little time left is pleading even for an 'exhumed grave spot,' it is the nation's duty to find a way to honor him. If the Ministry of National Defense reflects on its lack of effort during the POWs' escape, I hope it finds a way to repay this debt."

'Korean War POW's Wish' Seoul National Cemetery... Possibility of Refusal Due to 'Full Capacity'

On the morning of the 17th, at the intersection in front of the courthouse in Seocho-gu, Seoul, plaintiff grandfather Kim Seong-tae is speaking at the press conference related to the first trial of the second lawsuit for damages against North Korea by five North Korean military prisoners of war, held for the first time in 31 months.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

The official position is that the Seoul National Cemetery, which Grandpa Kim earnestly desires, has been 'full' for over ten years. However, the Ministry of National Defense has made several 'exceptions' in the past. For example, when former Presidents Kim Young-sam and Kim Dae-jung passed away, there were no vacant spots in the national leaders' burial area within the Seoul National Cemetery, so they had to be buried in the Daejeon National Cemetery. However, the mountain was cut to create spaces for both.

General Chae Myung-shin, a 'Vietnam War hero' who passed away in 2013, was also interred in the enlisted soldiers' burial area of the Seoul National Cemetery according to his will to be with his comrades. His grave was separately made in the front row vacant space of the fully occupied burial area. Similarly, Hwang Gyu-man, former Army Intelligence Chief, who was buried in the Seoul National Cemetery in June 2020, shared a grave site with an unknown comrade.

Moreover, it is known that there are many empty graves (public graves) within the Seoul National Cemetery caused by families relocating remains for family graves or other reasons. Although the custom is to inform that "once a grave is exhumed, it cannot be reused," there is no legal provision prohibiting reburial. The Seoul National Cemetery also stated in response to inquiries, "There is no regulation prohibiting reburial in public graves."

Park Sun-young, director of Mulmangcho, urged, "We earnestly hope the government listens to the heartfelt wish of the elderly Korean War POW." She added, "Among past presidents, none have invited Korean War POWs and said, 'We are sorry, thank you, and we will remember your dedication.' If the president invites Korean War POWs on the upcoming Memorial Day, it would be a meaningful message."

President Yoon Suk-yeol invited three 'defected Korean War POWs,' including Grandpa Kim, to his inauguration ceremony last May for the first time in history. At the 8th West Sea Defense Day ceremony held at the National Daejeon Cemetery on the 24th of last month, he hosted families of the Cheonan ship sinking victims and veterans who defended the West Sea, stating, "Properly honoring and warmly welcoming the heroes who protected the country is the nation's rightful duty."

The Boy Who Returned with White Hair, Welcomed by the 'Land' Instead of His Mother

POWs of the South Korean Army being taken to the North. [Image source=Book They Saw the Korean War 1]

Born in September 1932 in Pocheon-gun, Gyeonggi Province, Grandpa Kim lied about his age to enlist in the military to ease the burden on his tenant farmer parents. He was only seventeen in 1948. Two years after being assigned to the 7th Division, 1st Regiment, the Korean War broke out in 1950. On the fifth day of the war, the boy soldier, carrying his wounded company commander, was captured by North Korean forces while isolated at the front. Thus began a nightmare that lasted 50 years without awakening.

The boy, held in a POW camp, attempted to escape by sea in July 1953, just before the armistice agreement, but was recaptured and imprisoned in a re-education camp. Charged with 'treason against the homeland,' he served 13 years. After release, he endured forced labor at places like the military horse training center instead of returning home. Around July 1966, when he was thirty-five, he was taken to the Chuwon coal mine in Onsong, North Hamgyong Province.

While swallowing coal dust in the dark underground, President Kim Dae-jung visited Pyongyang when Grandpa Kim was about seventy. It was June 2000. He hoped for a miracle, but the president left without saying a word to 'send back surviving Korean War POWs.' From then on, Grandpa Kim repeatedly risked his life attempting to escape, and finally, in June 2001, the boy with white hair returned home after 51 years of captivity in North Korea.

Meanwhile, according to UN military data, after the armistice agreement in July 1953, about 83,000 South Korean soldiers did not return, and only 8,321 were repatriated. In the past, the Ministry of National Defense treated POWs as deceased due to lack of accurate data, but the situation changed when the late Lieutenant Cho Chang-ho first returned in 1994. Until 2010, when 80 Korean War POWs had returned, the government had no cases of rescuing POWs.

Grandpa Kim and four other Korean War POWs filed a damages lawsuit against Kim Jong-un in September 2020. This was shortly after two other Korean War POWs won a damages lawsuit against Kim Jong-un. However, the trial was delayed due to service by public notice and changes in the court panel, and the first hearing was held on the 17th after 31 months. During this time, three passed away, reducing the number of surviving Korean War POWs to thirteen.

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