DATE=10/28/1999
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
TITLE=KOREA MASSACRE - INVESTIGATION
NUMBER=5-44637
BYLINE=ALISHA RYU
DATELINE=SEOUL
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
/// EDS: A companion piece, including interviews with
Americans and Koreans who were present during the
Nogun-ri incident, will move on this wire shortly ///
INTRO: A team of U-S experts is in South Korea to
begin investigating allegations that American soldiers
massacred civilians during the Korean War almost 50
years ago. The U-S team is working with a group of
experts from South Korea, and the two sides will be
coordinating procedures for their joint investigation.
V-O-A's Alisha Ryu reports from Seoul that the alleged
massacre at the village of Nogun-ri 160-kilometers
southeast of the capital is already fueling anti-
American sentiment in South Korea.
Text: Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister, Hong Soon-
young says the South Korean government is confident
the investigative teams will get to the truth
surrounding what is being called, the Nogun-ri
massacre.
Survivors in the village claim that in late July of
1950, retreating U-S soldiers gunned down about three
hundred unarmed South Koreans because some of the
refugees were thought to be North Koreans in disguise.
Several veterans in the United States have also said
they participated in or witnessed the shootings that
took place beneath a railroad bridge near Nogun-ri.
In an interview with V-O-A, Mr. Hong said both
countries will disclose all the information they can
gather about the incident, no matter how embarrassing
or painful the facts might be.
/// First Hong Act ///
We are both committed to democratic values,
human rights and (giving) full justice to any
grievance from any victim. It is being done in
the name of truth, in the spirit of trust.
/// End Act ///
But trusting the government to be completely truthful
and fair may not easy for many South Koreans.
Memories of more than three decades of dictatorial
rule after the Korean War are still fresh. Previous
governments headed by former military leaders Park
Chung-hee, Chun Doo-hwan, and Roh (pronounced No) Tae-
woo often persecuted and jailed their critics. And it
was unlawful for citizens to question matters of
national security.
Nogun-ri survivor Yang (pronounced Yahng) Hae-chang,
says the repressive atmosphere in Korea during those
years made it impossible for survivors to talk openly
about what happened in their village.
/// Yang Act in Korean - Establish and
Fade ///
He says the United States was South Korea's closest
ally after the war and because of that alliance,
Koreans were discouraged from criticizing the United
States. Mr. Yang says during the late 1960's and
`70s, he was taken into police custody three times and
severely punished for speaking out about Nogun-ri.
The years of censorship took its toll, breeding public
resentment toward the United States. The continuing
U-S military presence and political influence on the
peninsula added to that ill will among many South
Koreans.
The Nogun-ri case is the latest issue to ignite that
lingering resentment. The current government of
President Kim Dae-jung has been sharply criticized for
not showing enough sympathy toward the Nogun-ri
survivors.
Some villagers in Nogun-ri say they suspect the
government might be trying to cover up evidence of a
massacre. They say workers from the National Railroad
Administration recently filled in the bullet holes in
the concrete foundations of the railroad bridge. The
railroad says it was done as part of routine
maintenance, but villagers say the concrete had never
been repaired in all the years since the Korean War.
In Seoul, an elderly man who would only identify
himself as Mr. Park says he doubts the latest
investigations will uncover the whole truth about the
alleged massacre.
/// Park Act in Korean - Establish and
Fade ///
Is it not obvious, he asks. The minute the United
States finds out its boys did something, he says, it
will ask us Koreans to keep quiet and we will, like we
have always done.
U-S and South Korean officials worry that such
sentiments could endanger the friendship and security
alliance between the two countries. As part of that
alliance, about 37-thousand American soldiers are
stationed in South Korea, mainly along the tense
border with North Korea.
Political scientist Lee Jung-hoon at Yonsei University
says those who oppose the U-S-Korea alliance could
exploit the atrocity allegations to further their
anti-American agenda.
/// Lee Act ///
Even if the findings are true, I think Korean-
American relations is at a mature point where we
can withstand this and other issues that will
come up time and again. However, maybe some
radical students within South Korea can take
advantage of the situation and really grasp onto
the issue.
/// End Act ///
Foreign Minister Hong agrees the threat of trouble
exists.
/// Second Hong Act ///
I do not deny there is room for exploitation by
certain elements. But we know that U-S soldiers
came here to save Korea from the aggressions of
North Korean armed forces, so you have to keep
that in mind.
/// End Act ///
Many South Koreans say they are grateful to the United
States for intervening in the Korean War. They say
they can even understand how mistakes could have been
made in the midst of battlefield chaos and confusion.
But college student Kim Dong-min says he does not
believe Nogun-ri was an isolated incident.
/// Kim Act in Korean - Establish and Fade
///
He says he has heard about American soldiers
committing atrocities elsewhere in Korea during the
war. If that is the case, he says, the United States
government should not offer just monetary compensation
to victims but a sincere apology to the nation as
well.
Other college students surveyed recently say they will
be watching closely to see how both governments handle
the Nogun-ri investigations. They say that if it
seems as if either government is shading the truth or
holding back information, public distrust will grow
and political pressure will increase against
maintaining a strong U-S-Korea alliance.(Signed)
NEB/AR/JP
28-Oct-1999 12:17 PM EDT (28-Oct-1999 1617 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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