[Reporter’s Notebook] Is the Ministry of National Defense Ashamed of the Sacrifice of South Korean POWs?

'Identifying and Repatriating POWs' Is a National Duty by Law
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Zero Government Rescues: Reflecting on 70 Years of Unfulfilled Responsibility

South Korean prisoners of war (POWs) who participated in the Korean War in their teens and twenties endured decades of forced labor while detained in North Korea. On the 26th of last month, when an interview was conducted with a survivor who defected from North Korea at over seventy years old in 2001, another survivor passed away. He was 93 years old. Despite being confined in an unknown coal mine and neglected by the state throughout his life, he used to say, "I am sorry I could not lay even a single brick for my homeland."

Upon submitting the obituary, the Ministry of National Defense immediately demanded that both his name and face be removed. They claimed it was the 'family's wish.' Then, the Vice Minister visited the funeral hall and released photos to the media. With a photo caption exceeding 300 characters, they emphasized that the government had given proper honors. Seeing this Ministry of National Defense, one wonders whether the family's true wish was really to have the veteran's final steps concealed.

Families of South Korean POWs from North Korea reportedly fear that if the obituary becomes public, their relatives left behind in the North could be endangered. The 'family's wish' that the Ministry of National Defense cites to conceal information about the POWs generally reflects this concern. However, while the Ministry hides the obituary out of concern for the safety of families remaining in the North, their act of publicizing photos from the funeral as if to boast about the honors given appears contradictory.

Since the armistice agreement, the Ministry of National Defense has failed to rescue a single South Korean POW in 70 years. Moreover, they have ranked returning POWs who escaped on their own, assigning the lowest grade to 70 out of 80 individuals. This is based on criteria that interpret even minimal cooperation for survival as 'indirect hostile acts.' It is a standard that overlooks the fact that these were prisoners captured at the risk of their lives. One survivor who met with a reporter angrily recounted, "One day, a People's Army officer said, 'Since the armistice agreement has been signed, those who want to return can come out,' then machine-gunned those who stood up," and asked, "Can they really question us why we didn't return sooner?"

Before discussing honors, the Ministry of National Defense has the responsibility to identify the whereabouts and conditions of South Korean POWs and repatriate them. Article 3 of the South Korean POW Repatriation Act defines this as a 'national duty.' However, the Ministry of National Defense, the competent authority, has not even established an organization dedicated to this matter. This is evidence of a lack of interest and will. The POW repatriation task is currently housed under the 'Arms Control and Non-Proliferation Policy Division,' which is primarily responsible for disarmament and non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

The Arms Control Division is the same entity that blocked the obituary while promoting photos of the Vice Minister's condolence visit. The Ministry of National Defense did not directly manage the funeral either; instead, it handed over the budget to a specific civic group for several years to conduct the funeral on its behalf. Only 12 survivors who escaped North Korea risking their lives and returned to their homeland remain today. Before it is too late, efforts must begin by abolishing the grading system that diminishes the sacrifices of veterans and establishing a dedicated organization.