[Exclusive] "After 44 Years, I Want to Put an End to It"... Disappearance of SNU Student Noh Jinsu to Be Submitted to the 3rd Truth and Reconciliation Commission

Official Launch of the 3rd Truth and Reconciliation Commission for the Resolution of Past Affairs on the 26th

Forty-four years after his disappearance in 1982, the whereabouts and fate of Seoul National University law student Noh Jinsu remain unknown. His older brother, Noh Daeyoung (formerly named Noh Jinho), will file an application for a truth-finding investigation with the 3rd Committee for the Resolution of Past Affairs for Truth and Reconciliation (hereinafter referred to as the Truth and Reconciliation Committee), which is scheduled to be launched on the 26th.

Born in Daegu, Noh Jinsu entered the Seoul National University School of Law as a member of the class of 1981. While enrolled, he took the lead in the pro-democracy movement, including organizing events commemorating the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement, before suddenly going missing.

Noh Jinho (67) said he has not held his younger sibling's funeral for 44 years and will apply for a truth-finding investigation to the 3rd Committee for the Resolution of Past Affairs for Truth and Reconciliation, which is due to launch on the 26th. Reporter Choi Daeuk

In the early 2000s, during the 2nd Commission on the Investigation of Suspicious Deaths, allegations were raised that he had been killed and his body disposed of at sea by North Korea infiltration operatives, and an investigation was conducted. However, due to a lack of decisive evidence, the case was concluded with a finding of "unable to determine the truth."

The 3rd Truth and Reconciliation Committee has expanded its investigative scope to cover cases up to 2001, before the establishment of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea, and strengthened its investigative powers. As a result, it has become a last hope for bereaved families who have carried unresolved grief in their hearts for more than 40 years.

In an interview with The Asia Business Daily, Noh Jinho (67, Dalseo-gu, Daegu) said, "After my younger brother disappeared, our family was torn apart. Following my father, my aging mother also passed away two years ago, barely able to call out her son's name," adding, "My lifelong wish is to at least find my brother's body and give him a proper funeral."

Noh also shared particularly personal feelings as he mentioned the "Frog Boys" case, one of Daegu's most notorious unsolved cases.

He said, "The pain of the Frog Boys' families, who lost their children and spent their whole lives in tears, does not feel like someone else's story," and emphasized, "For the sake of those families and the children who have already become spirits, I sincerely hope that the dark shadow of state violence and suspicious deaths will be lifted and that the truth will be fully uncovered."

The 3rd Truth and Reconciliation Committee will accept applications for truth-finding investigations for two years starting on the 26th, and numerous bereaved families of past human rights abuses, including Noh, are expected to apply.

Attention is focused on whether the time that stopped for Noh Jinsu 44 years ago will finally begin to move again through the activities of this 3rd committee.

Noh Jinsu's day-by-day movements before and after disappearance. Provided by the Commission on the Investigation of Suspicious Deaths

◆ Who is Noh Jinsu?

Noh Jinsu was born in Daemyeong-dong, Nam-gu, Daegu, and attended Yeongseon Elementary School and Gyeongbok Middle School before dropping out during his first year at Oseong High School.

He later passed the qualification exam for high school graduates and was admitted to the Seoul National University School of Law in 1981, a testament to his academic excellence.

From his middle school years, he had such a strong sense of justice that he could not stand by when he saw classmates bullying weaker students. After entering university, he served as class representative in his first year and stood at the center of the student movement.

◆ At the forefront of the pro-democracy movement... "I feel like I was born in the wrong era"

From the moment he entered university in 1981, his path was unflinching.

During military-style training at Munmu University Military Training Center, he expressed his intention to refuse training in protest against the dictatorship. He was also active in "Fides," the law school editorial department, where he led social science seminars.

In particular, around the first anniversary of the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement, he became a thorn in the side of the regime by making and distributing black ribbons and planning satirical skits.

Continuing his risky activities, including making contact with former Prime Minister Kim Youngsam, who was under house arrest before his disappearance, he told his mother in the fall of 1981, "I'm scared. I feel like I was born in the wrong era," leaving behind these heartbreaking words.

◆ May 1982, his last known movements and the "ssejjuguri-han" letter

In May 1982, shortly before his disappearance, Noh visited friends in his hometown and revealed his anxiety.

He confided to his friend Kim Hantae, "Someone keeps following me," expressing his distress. At the boarding room of his high school friend Kim Yongbeom, he left behind a gloomy letter that began with the words "It's a ssejjuguri-han (an uneasy, creepy) day," and then vanished without a trace.

He has not returned for 44 years since.

◆ A tip-off alleging "killed by the Defense Security Command and body dumped"... yet still "unable to determine the truth"

During the previous investigation by the Commission on the Investigation of Suspicious Deaths, a shocking testimony was given by an informant who claimed to have been a member of an operations team in the Seorak Development Unit (HID) under the Defense Security Command.

The testimony stated, "On orders, we killed Noh Jinsu with a specially made club in front of the gosi-chon (exam village) in Sillim-dong and then dumped his body in Dowon Reservoir in Goseong, Gangwon-do."

However, because his body was never found and there was a lack of physical evidence, the case remains in a state of "unable to determine the truth."

◆ A forgotten name, but a truth that cannot be abandoned

His university classmates, including attorney Choi Bongtae, have formed "Nosamo (an association that loves and remembers Noh Jinsu)" and are tirelessly calling for the truth to be uncovered through efforts such as considering the production of a film and holding press conferences at the National Assembly.

In particular, the continued silence of those involved, such as classmate A, who was serving in the Defense Security Command at the time of the disappearance, remains an unresolved issue.

His father, the late Noh Geumbaek, longed for his son throughout his life and passed away six years after the disappearance, in 1988. His elderly mother, Choi Soseon, who lost her husband and two children, closed her eyes two years ago.

The final wish of the mother, who spent 44 years in tears, was not revenge but "a reunion."

Her frail plea before death was that she wanted to hold at least her son's ashes in her arms. Her last words were, "I will forgive the perpetrator, just tell me where my son is lying..."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.