Appeal Filed Against Commission`s View of 1948 Jeju Incident

A group of Army veterans who commanded ground troops in the April 3 Jeju incident will file a constitutional appeal against disputed details of the bloody rebellion.

They claimed a national truth commission on the incident conducted an incorrect investigation, resulting in the recognition of rebels in the incident as victims and an excessively high number of victims.

Dr. Rhee In-su, the adopted son of former President Rhee Syngman, and Chae Myeong-shin, who was in charge of troops responsible for cracking down on the rebels, said yesterday that they will file the appeal.

They said the incorrect investigation results of the commission violated basic rights guaranteed by the Constitution, including dishonoring the troops who participated in the operation.

The incident began April 3, 1948, on Jeju Island. Between 14,000 and 30,000 people were killed in fighting between factions on the island.

Rhee and Chae claimed that among the 13,564 people killed in the incident who were recognized as victims by the commission, the identities of 1,567 of them are dubious given that they include leaders of the communist rebel groups and their sympathizers from the Communist Party.

The commission launched its investigation in 2000 and announced the results in 2003.

Controversy remains, however, over whether the incident should be defined as an armed uprising of rebels or a massacre of innocent civilians; if the then Communist Party hampered parliamentary elections; and if the communists who triggered the incident should be recognized as victims.

“We decided to take this legal measure to prevent history from being distorted, something which continued under the former Roh administration,” Dr. Rhee said.

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