Data CenterKorean War Abduction

Korean War Abduction

Means of Solution

1) Passage of special law concerning Korean War abductees in March 2010

Name of Law: "Law Concerning Truth Investigations for Korean War Era North Korean Abductees and the Restoration of Their Honor"
Main Goals of Law: collect reports of wartime abductions to create a wartime abductees list; uncover related documents to write a report on abduction cases; promote the construction of memorial monuments for abductees; the law's Article 3 calls for the establishment and implementation of measures to confirm the whereabouts of wartime abductees and their repatriation

2) Appoint a special minister post for abductees and a department exclusively focused on issue

While it may be difficult to resolve the abductee issue when North Korea argues that it has never abducted anyone, there is no reason for the South Korean government to delay any longer its constitutional responsibility to resolve an issue that has been going on for the past 60 years.
After the list of abductees and report are created, the government will need to use these materials to establish and implement policies aimed at solving basic issues such as confirming the whereabouts of abductees. The government must appoint a special minister post to oversee progress and implementation of resolutions to the issue and establish a dedicated government department made up of criminal abduction experts.

3) Make the wartime abductees issue an agenda during North-South talks

The government must continue to push North Korea to admit to its campaign of civilian abductions during the Korean War as North-South dialogue takes place and press for confirmation of their whereabouts and the return of their remains, among other issues.

4) Passage of Korean War Abductees Resolution H.Res.376

This resolution made clear that the abductions were war crimes committed by North Korea by separating the abductees issue from the "displaced persons" issue during the armistice negotiations. It created the groundwork to spread the wartime abductees issue to the international community and move towards a resolution.

5) South Korean government must make the issue of war time abductees a prerequisite for North and South Korean dialogue

Before the two Koreas move towards establishing a peace regime, the South Korean government must prepare a "wartime South Korean citizen abductions white paper" to increase interest in the issue in the international community and make sure the unresolved issue of war time abductions is solved before progress on anything else.

6) Establish solidarity with other countries that have suffered from abductions and work together to spread global interest in wartime abductions to find a resolution to the issue.

7) Make the war time abductions issue an agenda during the Six-Party Talks

8)Continue to request that the International Red Cross officially recognize that the displaced persons list of 1956 is actually a list of war time abductees, and continue efforts to find out the whereabouts and condition of the abductees.

9) Continue to submit petitions to the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID).

10) Make sure the UN Commission of Inquiry treats the war time abduction issue as important, and prepare for the issue to come before the International Criminal Court (ICC).