The Geochang massacre ( ko, 거창 양민학살 사건,

Hanja Hanja (Hangul: ; Hanja: , ), alternatively known as Hancha, are Chinese characters () used in the writing of Korean. Hanja was used as early as the Gojoseon period, the first ever Korean kingdom. (, ) refers to Sino-Korean vocabulary, ...

: 居昌良民虐殺事件) was a

massacre A massacre is the killing of a large number of people or animals, especially those who are not involved in any fighting or have no way of defending themselves. A massacre is generally considered to be morally unacceptable, especially when per ...

conducted by the third battalion of the 9th regiment of the 11th Division of the

South Korean Army The Republic of Korea Army (ROKA; ko, 대한민국 육군; Hanja: 大韓民國陸軍; RR: ''Daehanminguk Yuk-gun''), also known as the ROK Army or South Korean Army, is the army of South Korea, responsible for ground-based warfare. It is the l ...

between 9 February 1951 and 11 February 1951 of 719 unarmed citizens in

Geochang Geochang County (''Geochang-gun,'' ) is a county in South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. The Geochang International Festival of Theater, which was started in 1989, is renowned as the best play festival in Korea. The District Office is ...

South Gyeongsang South Gyeongsang Province ( ko, 경상남도, translit=Gyeongsangnam-do, ) is a province in the southeast of South Korea. The provincial capital is at Changwon. It is adjacent to the major metropolitan center and port of Busan. The UNESCO World H ...

district of

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. The victims included 385 children. The 11th Division also conducted the Sancheong-Hamyang massacre two days earlier. The general commanding the division was

Choe Deok-sin Choe Deok-sin (September 17, 1914 – November 14, 1989) was a South Korean Foreign Minister who later defected with his wife, Ryu Mi-yong, to North Korea. Choe was born in Uiju County, North Pyongan Province. In 1936, he graduated from th ...

. On February 8 the 3rd Battalion, 9th Regiment, 11th Division of the

South Korean army The Republic of Korea Army (ROKA; ko, 대한민국 육군; Hanja: 大韓民國陸軍; RR: ''Daehanminguk Yuk-gun''), also known as the ROK Army or South Korean Army, is the army of South Korea, responsible for ground-based warfare. It is the l ...

, called the "Hwarang Division", occupied Kwaejong-ri, Simon Sub-County. The guerrilla unit under the Sanchong County Party Committee had temporarily controlled Sinwon County before their brief engagement with the

during their withdrawal from the region. On February 10, the "Hwang Division" rounded up 136 men, from six villages in the region, and brought them to the nearby Paksin Valley where they were all killed with machine guns. On February 11, all those who remained in the region were gathered at the playground of the Sinwon Primary School under the pretense of evacuation. They were taken to a remote mountain valley and all shot to death. Most of the victims were old people, women, and children. Only the families of

members, local police, and public officials were spared. In an effort to cover up the massacre, the

burned the victims' bodies and bombed a nearby mountain slope in order to cover them with soil. Sin Song Mo, the then

minister of defense A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in s ...

of South Korea, downplayed the massacre by claiming that the

had eliminated "communist bandits", not innocent civilians. Attempting to minimize his complicity in the massacre, the Commander of the 11th Division said: "Could anyone issue such an order, which goes against common sense?" In March 1951, Shin Chung-mok ( ko), a leading assembly lawmaker from Geochang reported the massacre to the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the r ...

against the South Korean Army's

cover up A cover-up is an attempt, whether successful or not, to :wikt:conceal, conceal evidence of wrongdoing, error, incompetence, or other embarrassment, embarrassing information. Research has distinguished personal cover-ups (covering up one's own ...

. The National Assembly's special investigation team investigated, but was hampered by the South Korean Army's interruption. Shin was arrested and sentenced to death in an Army

court martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...

. In May 1951, the second investigation team was dispatched by the National Assembly and they reported the South Korean Army involvement. After the investigation, Major Han and Colonel Oh Ik-gyun were sentenced to life in prison by a military court. President

Syngman Rhee Syngman Rhee (, ; 26 March 1875 – 19 July 1965) was a South Korean politician who served as the first president of South Korea from 1948 to 1960. Rhee was also the first and last president of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Ko ...

subsequently granted

clemency A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the j ...

to the criminals. This massacre is pointed out as an example of oppression under his rule. In April 2004, the Geochang Massacre Memorial Park was founded in memory of the victims, in Geochang. On 20 February 2006, National Archives and Records Service reported the files about the massacre were found. In 2001, a local court ordered the South Korean government to pay reparations to the victims' families. On 18 May 2004, a general court ruled that a charge of massacre against the South Korean government was barred by limitation. On 5 June 2008, the South Korean Supreme Court confirmed that the charge was barred by limitation. In June 2010,

An Jeong-a An, AN, aN, or an may refer to: Businesses and organizations * Airlinair (IATA airline code AN) * Alleanza Nazionale, a former political party in Italy * AnimeNEXT, an annual anime convention located in New Jersey * Anime North, a Canadian an ...

, a researcher for the

Truth and Reconciliation Commission A truth commission, also known as a truth and reconciliation commission or truth and justice commission, is an official body tasked with discovering and revealing past wrongdoing by a government (or, depending on the circumstances, non-state act ...

, disclosed National Defense Ministry official documents on his thesis that the massacre had been done under official South Korean Army order in order to annihilate citizens living in the guerrilla influenced area. On September 9, 2010, An was fired for disclosing Geochang massacre documents. The National Defense Ministry accused An of disclosing the documents which he had been only permitted to view under the condition of nondisclosure.

See also

References

External links