Official Apology Demand to North Korean Regime
Recommendation for UN to Investigate and Document the Damage Process
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) has made a decision to uncover the truth regarding the 'Human Rights Violations Incident Caused by the Repatriation of Zainichi Koreans to North Korea.'
On the 7th, the TRC announced at its 84th meeting held in Jung-gu, Seoul, that it had decided to investigate the truth about the 'Human Rights Violations Incident Caused by the Repatriation of Zainichi Koreans to North Korea.'
It urged the North Korean regime to issue an official apology, confirm the whereabouts and status of the repatriates, and guarantee their freedom of movement. It also recommended that the United Nations (UN) investigate the damages and whereabouts of the repatriates and their families and reflect the investigation results in historical records.
This incident refers to the case where 27 Zainichi Koreans themselves or their descendants were deceived by false propaganda from the North Korean regime and the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryon) that "North Korea is a utopia without discrimination" and were repatriated to North Korea. They applied for truth investigation, claiming that they were exploited for their property and labor by the North Korean regime, discriminated against in residence, education, and job selection, and subjected to human rights violations such as privacy surveillance and enforced disappearance.
The TRC conducted a research project on the repatriation of Zainichi Koreans and confirmed that the North Korean regime and Chongryon premeditated the repatriation project and deceived people with false propaganda, relocating 17 Zainichi Koreans, who are subjects of the truth investigation, to North Korea from 1959 to 1984. The total number of repatriated Zainichi Koreans is estimated to be 93,340.
According to the investigation, the majority of the repatriates and their families were assigned to rural areas such as Hyesan in Yanggang Province, outside of Pyongyang, where their movements were monitored. A boy who demanded to be sent back to Japan was taken away by soldiers and went missing; he was later seen five years afterward in a psychiatric detention facility.
The TRC concluded that the primary responsibility for this incident lies with the North Korean regime and Chongryon, who systematically and organizationally conducted false propaganda. The Japanese government and the Japanese Red Cross Society, despite being able to verify the reality of North Korea and the nature of the repatriation project, intentionally supported and sustained the repatriation project, effectively condoning the human rights abuses by the North Korean regime against the repatriates.
Furthermore, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) did not actively monitor compliance with the repatriation process under the repatriation agreement and failed to fulfill its role as an intermediary and advisor in the repatriation project. The South Korean government made diplomatic efforts until the last repatriation in 1984 but ultimately failed to prevent the repatriation, the TRC concluded.
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