JEONNAM-GWANGJU — After 78 years of waiting, the South Korean government offered its first formal response at the memorial podium. At the 78th joint memorial for the Yeosu-Suncheon Oct. 19 Incident, held by Jeonnam-Gwangju Special Metropolitan City at Ocheon Green Plaza in Suncheon on the 19th, a presidential memorial address was read aloud on the president's behalf for the first time, reaffirming the state's responsibility for uncovering the truth and restoring the honor of the victims.
Jeonnam-Gwangju Special Metropolitan City said Interior Minister Yoon Ho-jung read the memorial address issued in the president's name at the ceremony. At last year's 77th memorial, the president conveyed a message of remembrance through social media. This year, the address was delivered officially at the ceremony itself, stating the government's responsibility for truth-finding and the restoration of honor in the case more clearly.
The address included a reflection that the state had failed to protect its people and had turned away from that pain for a long time. It also conveyed deep condolences for the victims and words of comfort for their bereaved families.
The address said in particular that the state's responsibility does not end with the enactment of a law and the start of a truth-finding inquiry. It went on to stress the government's commitment to pursuing the investigation as part of its national policy agenda, completing the truth-finding report and fully restoring the honor of the victims and their families. Protecting the people, it said, is a natural duty of the state. The address also delivered a message that the country would be built so that unjust deaths at the hands of state power are never repeated.
The ceremony was held under the theme "78 Years of Waiting: Now the Republic of Korea Will Complete the Truth of Yeosun." It was intended to honor the souls of the victims and comfort the bereaved families who have carried their grief for decades.
The event carried added significance as the first joint memorial held since the launch of Jeonnam-Gwangju Special Metropolitan City. About 800 people attended, including Interior Minister Yoon Ho-jung, Jeonnam-Gwangju Special Metropolitan City Mayor Min Hyung-bae, a senior presidential secretary for public engagement and integration, National Assembly members, heads of local governments, bereaved family members and residents. Attendees paid tribute to the victims and joined in calls for truth-finding and the restoration of honor.
Park Kyung-jin, a bereaved family member, recounted the story of their father, the late prosecutor Park Chan-gil, who was killed during the incident. They spoke of family pain that has not faded even after 78 years and of their wish for the truth to be uncovered.
A reading followed of "I Was Sixteen," the top prize-winning poem in the third Yeosu-Suncheon Oct. 19 Peace Literature Awards. Through the work, attendees reflected on the wounds of the incident and shared the values of peace and human rights. A musical drama titled "The Murder of Memory" and a memorial song by the Suncheon City Choir were also performed.
In his memorial address, Mayor Min Hyung-bae paid tribute to the victims and offered deep condolences to bereaved families who have lived their whole lives with the pain. "Next year, the first state-level truth-finding report will be made public," Min said. "The truth that has been buried for 78 years will remain as an official record of the Republic of Korea." He added, "We will do everything we can to find and gather the remaining records and testimony, and to return the recovered remains to their families."
Ahead of the report's completion in April next year, Jeonnam-Gwangju Special Metropolitan City plans to concentrate its administrative resources on identifying unreported victims and restoring their honor. The city also plans to continue supporting the honoring of victims and the recovery of daily life for bereaved families through measures including the creation of memorial spaces, living-cost subsidies for bereaved families and the operation of a trauma healing center.