State panel confirms massacre of S. Korean civilians by leftists during Korean War

SEOUL, Aug. 25 (Yonhap) -- A state reconciliation panel said Thursday that more than 130 South Korean civilians were massacred by North Koreans and people close to the North in a southwestern region during the 1950-53 Korean War.

The mass killings of 133 civilians at the hands of local leftists and North Korean partisans occurred in Yeongam, a South Jeolla Province county about 410 kilometers south of Seoul, from August 1950 to November of the same year, according to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

The victims were mostly police, civil servants, members of a right-wing youth group and other people classified as right-wingers and their families, the panel noted.

Some people known to be wealthy and Christians were also sacrificed, it said, adding 36 percent of the victims were under the age of 15 and women accounted for 41 percent of the total.

"Even if the nation was in the midst of war, the state failed to fulfill its duty to protect the lives and freedom of the people, resulting in the sacrifice of the people and damage to the bereaved families," the commission said, calling for an official apology and support to the victims and their bereaved families.

ycm@yna.co.kr
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