April 12 Marks Enforcement of 4·3 Special Act... Compensation Up to 90 Million Won
President-Elect Yoon Seok-yeol Attends Memorial Ceremony as First Conservative Regime Leader
[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] The 74th anniversary memorial ceremony for the victims of the Jeju 4·3 Incident was held on the 3rd at the Jeju 4·3 Peace Park to console the spirits of the victims.
The government designated the day as a national memorial day in 2014 to share the values of reconciliation and coexistence and to contribute to the restoration of honor for the victims and their families. Since then, the ceremony has been held jointly with Jeju Special Self-Governing Province.
This year’s ceremony was held under the theme "The Breath of 4·3, as the Breath of History," carrying the meaning of deeply cherishing the last breath of the 4·3 victims in our history and further reflecting on the values of peace and human rights.
The ceremony began with a moment of silent prayer honoring the 4·3 victims, followed by flower offerings and incense burning, memorial speeches, reading of family members’ stories, and commemorative performances.
Next, the story of Elder Kang Chun-hee, the sister of the late Kang Won-hee (who was 1 year old at the time), a victim of the 4·3 Incident, was shared.
The flower offering and incense burning memorial music was performed by Kim Yoon-hee, a world-renowned violinist from Jeju, and singer Yang Ji-eun gave a memorial performance to console the souls of the victims.
The Jeju 4·3 Incident refers to the tragic event in which civilians were sacrificed during the suppression by military and police forces over a period of 7 years and 7 months, from the police shooting incident at the March 1st Independence Movement commemoration in 1947 until the lifting of the curfew on Hallasan Mountain on September 21, 1954.
This year’s memorial ceremony was held ahead of the enforcement of the "4·3 Special Act" on the 12th, which stipulates the standards for compensation payments to the victims of 4·3.
Through this law, victims and their families will receive compensation of up to 90 million won. Applications for compensation payments will be accepted for three years, from June 1, 2024, to May 31, 2025.
Ko Kyu-chang, Vice Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, said, "We pray for the peace and rest of the 4·3 victims and offer our deepest condolences to the surviving victims and bereaved families. We will strive to move toward a future of reconciliation and coexistence by learning from this painful history the values of peace and human rights."
Meanwhile, this year’s ceremony marked the first attendance by a conservative government’s president-elect, Yoon Seok-yeol.
The late President Roh Moo-hyun was the first head of state to apologize for the incident 55 years after it occurred in 2003, and he was the first sitting president to attend the 58th anniversary memorial ceremony in 2006. During subsequent conservative administrations, direct presidential attendance did not occur until President Moon Jae-in attended the 70th anniversary ceremony in 2018, marking the first attendance in 12 years.
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