Signatures of 1,000,000 People to be Submitted to UN
President Park Sends Thank Letter to Cho-sun Daily, which Led the Signature Campaign
(Nov. 25, 1964, Cho-sun Daily, 1st page)


On the 24th, President Park Chung Hee sent a letter to congratulate the president of this paper, Bang Woo Young, as the list of names from the nationwide One Million Signatures Campaign on behalf of the repatriation of abducted civilians that this paper started last summer is about to be sent to UN headquarters.

This paper’s chairman, Bang Il Young, said they were going to submit the petitions demanding repatriation of the illegally abducted South Korean civilians to UN headquarters and expected they would soon arrive in the US.

Whole text of the Letter from President Park Chung Hee

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Dear Chosun Ilbo President Bang Woo Young,


Last summer the Chosun Ilbo, with the support of the Korea Red Cross, completed the One Million Signatures Campaign demanding the repatriation of the 800,000 abducted civilians below – and you did this in a mere 55 days and exceeded the targeted number of signatures. Now with the submission preparations underway we look to the influence of the UN as a wellspring of justice and peace, and we once again believe your appealing for the abductees’ rescue has very great significance and wish to express our deep gratitude for the Chosun Ilbo’s creative efforts.

Through the Chosun Ilbo’s shining efforts, I believe you represent our 30 million people’s unchanging wish for reunification, and I am confident this will be long recorded in history. To go along with this, the UN has with fortuitous timing designating 1968 as the International Year of Human Rights. Based on a sacred sense of duty and through the spirit of the whole of the Korean people assuredly doing justice to our heart-pierced desire and last hope, my wish is for you to reflect us and become our ray of hope.

Also, as a corollary to this, its significance is not just solving and ending the Korean tragedy, it is a major step forward toward strengthening the power and influence of the UN, and I look forward to it becoming a way to valuably do that much more for mankind’s hope in the UN, the symbol of peace.
Finally, I once again express my gratitude for your patriotic efforts and creative ability, and from President Bang, under your leadership role, to all of your staff members I pray that under divine grace you are always in good health and your company grows day by day.


Thank you,

President Park Chung Hee