4700 Youth Human Rights Violations at 'Ansan Seongam Academy' Transformed into Historical and Cultural Space

Seongam Academy Former Site

Gyeonggi Province is transforming the former site of Ansan's 'Seongam Academy,' where the human rights of over 4,700 youths were violated from the 1940s to the 1980s, into a historical and cultural space.

On the 18th, Gyeonggi Province announced that it will allocate 150 million KRW in next year's main budget for a research project to establish preservation, management, and utilization plans for the Seongam Academy site, aiming to devise protection measures for the Seongam Academy historic site.

Through this project, Gyeonggi Province will conduct on-site investigations and review the feasibility of preservation and utilization for the Seongam Academy site and its 11 buildings located at 460-1 Seongam-dong, Danwon-gu, Ansan City. The site will be developed into a historical and cultural space to remember and commemorate the pain and suffering of the victims.

Additionally, the province will analyze the historical, social, and cultural values related to the preservation of the Seongam Academy site and promote its registration as a modern cultural heritage.

Masunheung, Gyeonggi Province’s Human Rights Officer, stated, "The greatest respect we can show to the victims of Seongam Academy is to never forget." He emphasized, "We will make every effort to ensure that memorial projects honoring the victims proceed smoothly, along with restoring their honor and providing living expenses support."

Gyeonggi Province is also considering directly conducting excavation of victims' remains if the government does not fulfill its responsibility after establishing a national-level excavation plan.

Previously, in October last year, Gyeonggi Governor Kim Dong-yeon held a joint press conference with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission on Past Affairs and officially apologized to the victims and their families.

At the joint press conference, Governor Kim said, "Although Seongam Academy closed and disappeared 40 years ago, I offer my deepest apologies and condolences as the Governor of Gyeonggi Province to the surviving victims and families who suffered immense pain due to severe state violence during the era of appointed provincial governors before local autonomy was implemented."

Governor Kim’s apology was significant as it was the first official apology from Gyeonggi Province following the national-level truth investigation into the Seongam Academy incident.

Building on Governor Kim’s apology, Gyeonggi Province has established a comprehensive plan for healing and restoring the honor of Seongam Academy victims, providing support such as living expenses and medical services.

In March this year, Gyeonggi Province began providing consolation payments of 5 million KRW and monthly living stabilization support of 200,000 KRW to victims of child human rights violations from Seongam Academy residing in the province. This is the first time a local government has provided consolation payments to victims of state violence.

Out of 131 applicants, the Seongam Academy Incident Victim Support Committee selected 123 as eligible for support after excluding 8 due to insufficient evidence, death, residence outside the province, or unknown residence. The number of support recipients has since increased from 123 to 194.

In addition to financial support, Gyeonggi Province provides medical services with an annual limit of 5 million KRW at Gyeonggi Provincial Medical Center and reimburses actual medical expenses up to 2 million KRW annually at advanced general hospitals within the province for victims residing in the area.

Alongside living stabilization support, Gyeonggi Province relocated the Seongam Academy Victim Support Center in February this year to the 3rd floor of the old Gyeonggi Provincial Government building in Paldal-gu, Suwon, to serve as a hub for healing and restoring the honor of victims.

Currently, the Seongam Academy Victim Support Center operates services such as receiving victim cases, providing individual and in-depth counseling for emotional stability, and running trauma healing programs. This year, 160 people have received individual and in-depth counseling, and 102 have participated in trauma healing at the center.

Earlier, in December last year, Gyeonggi Province proposed an amendment to the Basic Act on Past Affairs Settlement for Truth and Reconciliation to the National Assembly to enable victims residing outside the province to receive support payments.

The Seongam Academy incident involved the violation of human rights of over 4,700 youths from 1942 to 1982 under the pretext of reforming vagrants, including forced labor, beatings, and harsh treatment.