Gurye-gun Closes Yeosun Incident Damage Reports, Investigation Begins in Earnest

680 Reports of Victim and Bereaved Family Damage Received

Investigation Proceeding with Interviews and Evidence Collection

[Gurye=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Yuk Mi-seok] Gurye-gun, Jeollanam-do announced that it has closed the Yeosu-Suncheon Incident damage report reception, which was conducted from January 21 last year according to the Yeosu-Suncheon Incident Special Act enacted 74 years after the incident, as of January 20 this year.

Over the past year, the total number of reports received by Gurye-gun was 680 cases, including 677 damage reports from victims' families and 3 reports for fact-finding. This was the third highest among local governments in Jeollanam-do, following Yeosu and Suncheon, and the number of victims by eup and myeon was highest in Sandong-myeon, followed by Ganjeon, Toji, Masan, and Gwangui in order.

[Photo by Gurye-gun]

A county official stated that the number of victims in the Gurye area is estimated to be at least 1,300, but due to the long period of 74 years since the incident and many people having moved to other regions, there were limitations in increasing the reporting rate relative to the scale of damage. However, with the active cooperation of local residents and the bereaved families' association, historically meaningful achievements were made.

With the closure of the report reception, the county plans to promptly and accurately determine the victims and families by starting fact-finding investigations such as interviews and data collection in the order of reception, and also actively prepare for the possible extension of the reporting period in the future.

County Governor Kim Soon-ho stated that the extension of the reporting period is definitely necessary due to the relatively low number of reports compared to the estimated scale of damage, and promised to actively strive to restore the honor of the victims and their families through accurate and meticulous investigation of the reported cases.

Gurye=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Yuk Mi-seok hss79@asiae.co.kr