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The National Truth and Reconciliation Committee on Wednesday announced 9,154 cases it plans to investigate this year. Cases of widespread abuse of civilians by U.S. troops, right-wing groups, police and Korean soldiers around the time of the Korean War make up the bulk with 7,533. Cases of abuse of civilians by left-wing groups and North Korean soldiers number 1,485. The committee vowed to investigate incidents including one in Yeosu in 1948, where border guards disobeyed a command to suppress the uprising on Jeju Island, killed 20 right-wing officers and led to the deaths of thousands in a clash with government forces.
The Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 will also be investigated, as well as 84 incidents involving overseas Koreans. This is a joke. The incidents the committee is seeking to investigate are mostly 50 to 60 years old. The head of the committee admitted, ¡°There are concerns that we may not be able to conclude the investigations, since most of the incidents occurred a long time ago and evidence and witnesses no longer exist.¡± Moreover, most of the cases to be investigated have already been examined by historians, political scientists and sociologists. In the National Assembly library alone, there are 30 different theses and books on the Yeosu incidents written by academics. What more is the committee trying to investigate and what is it going to do with it?
Most incidents around the Korean War were the results of fighting between left and right-wing groups. Depending on the leaning of the investigator, the investigation will lead to a completely different conclusion. The head of the NTRC, who is a mentor to the president, appeared on a TV broadcast in 2003 and said, ¡°The U.S. created the 38th Parallel and the U.S. is the culprit¡± for dividing Korea along that line. One committee member believes that U.S. and South Korean soldiers committed massacres between 1945 and 1953. Another signed a declaration seeking greater South Korean independence by breaking free from U.S. subordination. Yet another member has been devoted to investigating massacres of civilians by U.S. and South Korean soldiers after the Korean War. In the end, the truth these people want to reveal will obviously offer a new look at modern history from a left-wing perspective.
The committee has been given a budget of W11.93 billion (US$1=W946) this year and has 190 staff. The committee is saying it needs more money and more staff. Fine. If they want to pursue their hobbies, they shouldn¡¯t spend taxpayer money but raise the money themselves.
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