South Korean President vows justice for Yeosu-Suncheon victims on 77th anniversary

Seoul, Oct 19 (IANS) South Korea's President Lee Jae Myung on Sunday offered his condolences to the victims of the government's bloody crackdown on a military rebellion.

In a Facebook post marking the 77th anniversary of the so-called Yeosu-Suncheon incident, Lee pledged to seek justice for the civilians who were killed.

"I will take solemn responsibility as president and take every possible measure to ensure there will never again be innocent victims of state violence," he wrote.

He stressed the government will strive to uncover the full truth of the incident and restore the honour to the civilian victims, estimated to reach up to 11,000, reports Yonhap news agency.

"Setting history right and establishing justice is work that must be done no matter how long it will take," he said.

The incident began on October 19, 1948, when about 2,000 left-leaning soldiers in Yeosu, 455 kilometres south of Seoul, rose up in arms after refusing an order to move to Jeju Island to crack down on leftist protests against the South Korean government, which had been established two months before.

The military protest, which took place amid an ideological rift on the Korean Peninsula after its 1945 liberation from Japan's colonial rule, soon grew into a widespread uprising as civilians in Yeosu and nearby Suncheon joined the soldiers. The massive killing of civilians occurred during the authorities' crackdown on the anti-government movement.

In 2021, the National Assembly passed a special bill aimed at investigating the crackdown and restoring the honour of its victims.

Meanwhile, Seoul's top envoy to Tokyo, Lee Hyuk, announced on Saturday that South Korea plans to hold its own memorial ceremony late next month to honour Korean victims who were forced to work at an old Japanese mine complex during Japan's colonial rule of Korea.

--IANS

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