South Korean government launches inquiry into sexual violence during Gwangju Uprising

Vice Minister of Gender Equality and Family Lee Sook-jin and National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Secretary-General Cho Yeong-seon and National Ministry of National Defense director of legal affairs Noh Su-cheol hold a “signboard hanging ceremony” on June 8 at the Central Government Complex in Seoul to mark the beginning of the commission’s investigation into the sexual violence perpetrated by martial law forces and investigators during the Gwangju Uprising. (Baek So-ah, staff photographer)

Investigation to be headed by joint commission representing three ministries

The South Korean government has launched an inquiry into sexual violence perpetrated by investigators from martial law forces and the Defense Security Command (DSC) at the time of the Gwangju Democratization Movement, also known as the Gwangju Uprising, which began on May 18, 1980.

On June 8, the Joint Commission Investigating Sexual Violence by Martial law forces during the Gwangju Uprising held a “signboard hanging ceremony” in Room 202 of the Central Government Complex in Seoul to mark the beginning of its activities. Co-chaired by Vice Minister of Gender Equality and Family Lee Sook-jin and National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Secretary-General Cho Yeong-seon, the commission represents three government ministries – the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, the NHRC and the Ministry of Defense.

The commission’s mandate runs through Oct. 31, 2018. According to the Special Act for Investigating the Gwangju Uprising, the Committee for Investigating the Gwangju Uprising will be launching in September, and the commission is planning to hand over its investigation results after about five months to the committee and work with the committee to uncover the full truth of the incident.

The joint commission is composed of a support team, which is charged with collecting victims’ claims and providing them with assistance, and a team of investigators, which will be looking into those claims. The NHRC will be taking the lead in investigating the claims as well as any perpetrators who may be identified during that process.

Vice Minister of Gender Equality and Family Lee Sook-jin heads a briefing on June 8 concerning the joint inquiry commission of government ministries that is to investigate sexual violence perpetrated by martial law forces and DSC investigators during the Gwangju Uprising. (Baek So-ah, staff photographer)

The Ministry of Defense will be providing records from the Gwangju Uprising and material about the perpetrators as needed by investigators. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family will be processing victims’ claims and taking steps to provide victims and their families with counseling and medical assistance in partnership with sexual violence counseling centers and “Sunflower Centers.” A team of helpers – including experts in sexual violence – will be assembled to monitor the investigation and ensure that the victims are not revictimized.

“We’re going to hand over our investigation findings to the Committee for Investigating the Gwangju Democratization Movement, and we’re also thinking about releasing our findings as a report or making policy recommendations for institutional reform,” said NHRC Secretary-General Cho Yeong-seon.

Victims can submit their claims over the phone, in the mail or in person through Sept. 14 at the joint commission’s headquarters in the central government office in Seoul, at Sunflower Centers in Seoul and Gwangju, and at the NHRC’s office in Gwangju. Claims can also be filed on a confidential message board that will go up on the websites of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, the NHRC and the Ministry of Defense on the afternoon of June 12. Claims can be made not only by the victims themselves but also by those authorized to act on their behalf, and government workers can make home visits to process a claim or provide counseling when the claimant so desires.

On May 18, South Korean President Moon Jae-in announced that the government would set up a joint commission to uncover the truth about crimes of sexual violence that were committed during the Gwangju Uprising. In connection with this, The Hankyoreh ran four stories in a series called “The Truth about May 18” about crimes of sexual violence against women committed by investigators from martial law forces and the Defense Security Command during the Gwangju Uprising.

By Park Hyun-jung, staff reporter 　

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