Sergeant Kang Seongsun, Killed at 18 in the Korean War, Finally Returned to His Family

Killed in Action After Leaving Behind an 11-Month-Old Infant

The remains of the late Sergeant Kang Seongsun, who died at the age of 18 after leaving behind his 11-month-old infant to fight in the Korean War, have finally been returned to his family.

On May 9, the Ministry of National Defense Agency for KIA Recovery and Identification announced that it had identified the remains excavated in June 2007 in Mansegyo-ri, Sinbuk-myeon, Pocheon-si, Gyeonggi Province as belonging to the late Sergeant Kang Seongsun of the 7th Division of the Republic of Korea Army.

Sergeant Kang was born in September 1931 in Goyang-si, Gyeonggi Province, as the eldest son among one son and two daughters, and enlisted in July 1949. Around the time he first joined the military, his first son, Kang Kinam (75), was also born. During the Korean War, Sergeant Kang fought as a member of the 7th Division and was killed in action on the very day the war broke out, during the "Uncheon-Pocheon-Uijeongbu Battle." The Uncheon-Pocheon-Uijeongbu Battle was a defensive engagement conducted as the 9th Regiment of the 7th Division retreated through Pocheon toward the Uijeongbu area after being ambushed by the North Korean 3rd Division and the 105th Tank Brigade.

The identification of Sergeant Kang was made possible thanks to the lifelong longing of his only son to find his father, as well as the efforts of DNA analysts who employed new genetic analysis techniques. Kang Kinam, Sergeant Kang's son, provided a family DNA sample in 2008, and his grandson, Kang Beomjun (50), did the same in 2017.

As DNA analysis technology has advanced, analysts at the Agency have been conducting reanalysis of long-recovered remains since March 2021. As a result of these efforts, this March, they confirmed that the long-preserved remains belonged to Sergeant Kang and established the father-son relationship with Kang Kinam.

This "Return of the Hero" ceremony was held at the family's home in Goyang-si, Gyeonggi Province, at the request of the bereaved family on this day. Kang Kinam said, "I never expected that my father's remains would be found. I used to believe that my father had been taken prisoner to North Korea and would someday return alive, but after turning seventy, I gave up hope. Now that we have found his remains, I would like to have him laid to rest at the National Cemetery."