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🇰🇷 South Korea /Crime & Justice

Victims’ group demands apology and punishment over alleged false testimony by Samcheong detention camp commander

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

Translated from Korean and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Under investigation
  • The National Association of Samcheong Training Camp Victims and Bereaved Families accused former Army officer Han Dong-cheol of making a false conscience declaration while presenting himself as a victim.
  • Han recently testified about a 1981 shooting at the camp and sought an official investigation into the incident and his own forced retirement.
  • The group called for investigations into those responsible, official inquiries into unexplained deaths and the release of all state-violence records related to the camps.

A victims’ group has demanded an apology and punishment from a former military commander who publicly testified about a 1981 Samcheong detention camp shooting while allegedly concealing his own role in the violence.

The National Association of Samcheong Training Camp Victims and Bereaved Families, which has about 500 victims and relatives as members, issued the demand on July 31. It accused Han Dong-cheol, 72, of acknowledging his involvement in beatings during an earlier investigation but later appearing at a public hearing as though he were a victim.

He must apologize to the Samcheong victims and first receive proper punishment.

— National Association of Samcheong Training Camp Victims and Bereaved FamiliesThe group demanded accountability from former commander Han Dong-cheol.

Han had commanded the third company of the Army’s 5th Division 36th Regiment in 1981. At a July 20 press conference organized by another victims’ group outside South Korea’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, he described the circumstances surrounding gunfire against detainees and his own alleged mistreatment. He then filed an application seeking an official investigation into the incident, including the circumstances of his forced retirement.

It is absurd for someone who caused a person’s death to apply for an investigation into his forced retirement while posing as a victim before a state-violence investigation body.

— National Association of Samcheong Training Camp Victims and Bereaved FamiliesThe group challenged Han’s account of the 1981 shooting and his request for an official investigation.

The victims’ association said Han had been a key perpetrator of the beating that triggered a detainees’ protest and the subsequent shooting and casualties on June 20, 1981. It cited a statement recorded by the former Truth and Reconciliation Commission showing that Han acknowledged the beatings when questioned in 2002. At the July 20 press conference, however, Han denied having been questioned by that body.

The association also urged the government to investigate those who planned and carried out the Samcheong camps, conduct official inquiries into unexplained deaths and release all state-violence records related to the program. About 7,578 people underwent four to six weeks of “purification education,” followed by at least three months of forced labor and, in some cases, one to five years of protective custody. Oh Su-mi, the group’s leader and a second-generation victim, said she hoped similar acts against victims of state violence would not happen again.

We hope that such shameless acts against victims of state violence will not happen again. The victims have been deeply wounded.

— Oh Su-miThe group’s leader described the impact on victims and families.
About this summary

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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