Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung (right) is talking with Kim Young-bae, chairman of the Seongam Academy Child Victims Countermeasure Council, who visited the Gyeonggi Provincial Office last January, about the human rights violations at Seongam Academy.
[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] A new turning point has been established in the investigation of the old Seongam Academy located in Seongam-dong, Danwon-gu, Ansan-si, Gyeonggi-do, where over 4,700 youths were subjected to human rights violations such as forced labor over the past 40 years.
Gyeonggi-do announced that it will operate the "Seongam Academy Incident Victim Reporting Center" starting from the 16th to receive reports from victims of child human rights violations at Seongam Academy and provide counseling for survivors. Separately from operating this victim reporting center, the province is also promoting the development project of Seongamdo, where Seongam Academy was located.
◆ Seongam Academy, the 'Juvenile Version of Samcheong Education Camp' for Youth Human Rights Violations
Seongam Academy was a facility established on Seongamdo in Danwon-gu, Ansan, from 1942 to 1945 during the Japanese colonial period under the pretext of reforming vagrant children. At that time, children and adolescents aged 8 to 18 were forcibly admitted and subjected to human rights abuses such as forced labor, assault, abuse, torture, and starvation.
In particular, after liberation, jurisdiction was transferred to Gyeonggi-do in 1946, and human rights violations continued until the facility was closed in 1982. However, no accurate damage investigation or compensation has been conducted to clarify the truth. It has only been confirmed that over 4,700 boys were forced into labor. Many boys suffered from beatings and malnutrition and died while attempting to escape from human rights abuses.
Memorial Ceremony for Victims of Seongam Academy
Lee Dae-jun, former vice chairman of the Seongam Academy Child Victim Countermeasure Council, who succeeded in escaping on his 18th attempt, recalled in an interview with the media before his death, "If I didn't get beaten even for a day, I couldn't sleep. So every day was pure fear. I longed for freedom and tried to run away countless times, but I failed every time." He passed away from liver cancer in January this year.
Lee Jae-myung, Governor of Gyeonggi-do, officially apologized to the victims of Seongam Academy through Facebook last January, saying, "Seongam Academy, where human rights violations such as illegal confinement, forced labor, and harsh treatment were committed, was an institution operated by Gyeonggi-do," and "As the highest official of the provincial government, I deeply regret the responsibility."
◆ Gyeonggi-do to Operate 'Seongam Academy Incident Victim Reporting Center'
The province will open the "Seongam Academy Incident Victim Reporting Center" at the Gyeonggi Creative Center in Seongam-dong, Ansan, on the 16th. Earlier, last month, the province selected the nonprofit private organization Seongam Academy Child Victim Countermeasure Council (Chairman Kim Young-bae) as the entrusted institution and signed a consignment agreement on the 5th of last month.
The center will conduct various programs such as receiving victim reports, counseling for families of the deceased victims, accumulating and organizing case-related materials, and providing counseling support for surviving victims.
Last April, the province formed the Seongam Academy Countermeasure Task Force (TF) to excavate victims' remains, support victims, and enact special legislation.
The province believes that legal grounds are necessary for the investigation of the truth and support for victims of the Seongam Academy incident to gain momentum, and is focusing efforts on enacting the "Special Act on the Investigation of the Seongam Academy Incident" and passing the "Amendment to the Basic Act on Past Affairs for Truth and Reconciliation."
Park Chan-gu, Gyeonggi-do Human Rights Officer, explained, "The Seongam Academy incident is a painful history of child human rights violations in South Korea," and added, "The victim cases received through the center will be used as valuable data for truth investigation for victims and their families when enacting or amending laws."
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