Remains of 5·18 Missing Person Tentatively Identified as a Man in His 20s Living in Hwasun

Remains of Missing Persons from the May 18 Incident Found at Former Gwangju Prison
[Image Source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] Among the 262 skeletal remains excavated from the old Gwangju Prison, the individual tentatively identified as a missing person from the May 18 Democratic Uprising was confirmed to be a young man in his 20s.

On the 26th, according to the May 18 Truth Investigation Committee and related May 18 organizations, the remains were tentatively identified as those of a 23-year-old man, Mr. A, who lived in Hwasun, Jeonnam Province. A 99.9% genetic relationship was confirmed through a SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism) test with his younger sister.

Mr. A worked as an employee at a restaurant on Chungjang-ro in Gwangju and completed his service as a defense soldier in September 1979. He frequently traveled between his hometown Hwasun and Gwangju.

It was recorded that on May 24, 1980, at around 1 p.m., during the height of the uprising, he went from Hwasun to Gwangju and met his sister-in-law around 11 p.m. His whereabouts between those times remain unknown. After meeting his sister-in-law, Mr. A set out saying he was going to the "downtown," referring to Chungjang-ro or Geumnam-ro, but then lost contact.

Mr. A, whose whereabouts had been unknown, was identified as one of the skeletal remains found in the unclaimed mass grave at the old Gwangju Prison after 42 years.

The investigation committee plans to confirm that the remains are indeed Mr. A through cross-verification of genetic analysis. Additionally, based on the fact that the 24th was the period known as "Liberated Gwangju," when martial law troops withdrew from downtown, they plan to investigate the circumstances of his death and burial.