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Transitional Justice in the Asia-Pacific (37 page)
By 2012, the major activities of various truth commissions had reached an effective end, leaving a multitude of policy recommendations behind for implementation. As many scholars and practitioners have already noted, it is extremely unlikely that another truth commission will be established in the near future.
122
The prospect is even more discouraging since Park Geun-hye, a leader of the conservative Saenuri Party and daughter of Park Chung-hee (who regarded the TRCK's finding as a “personal offensive” against her),
123
won the presidential election in December 2012. Most of Park's supporters in conservative political groups believe the activities of the TRCK are little more than “score-settling” by leftists.
124
However, the future is still bright when we consider that the work of any truth commission does not end with the mere completion of its mandate. Rather, it is simply another beginning, as we have seen in many international and domestic examples. Civil society and academia can continue the legacy of truth commissions; one way is to create a permanent institution. A truth commission is only a temporary organization; its work and legacy can and must be continued in a permanent institution. Through a research and memorial foundation, other critical projects – such as a reparation or excavation program – can be initiated. The research and memorial foundation can better lay the foundations for the long-term goals of reconciliation and the achievement of historical, political, and legal justice.
125
The
Jeju Commission has already set up the Jeju 4.3 Peace Foundation to promote peace and human rights by both maintaining the Jeju 4.3
Museum and Memorial Park and conducting additional investigations
.
126
For the TRCK, the Framework Act provides an explicit legal ground to establish a permanent research foundation.
127
The creation of the permanent foundation is still possible for two reasons: first, there is a group of activists, researchers, and victims who strongly believe that the work of the TRCK remains unfinished;
128
and second, South Korean scholars – particularly in the field of history – are paying more and more attention to contemporary history due to the work of various commissions. Topics once forbidden in academia are now relatively freely discussed among a new generation of scholars. As long as victims and civil society continue to demand truth and justice, and sympathetic scholars seek to find the truth, the future is
bright.
1
For Korean names, the surname is written first followed by the hyphenated given name (e.g. Rhe Syng-man).
2
Gi-Wook
Shin
and Kyung
Moon Hwang
(eds.),
Contentious Kwangju: The May 18th Uprising in Korea's Past and Present
(Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2003);
In-Sup
Han, “Kwangju and Beyond: Coping with Past State Atrocities in South Korea,”
Human Rights Quarterly
, Vol.
27
, No. 3 (2005); George N.
Katsiaficas
and Kan-Chae
Na
,
South Korean Democracy: Legacy of the Gwangju Uprising
(New York, NY: Routledge, 2006).
3
For rare exceptions, see Gi-Wook
Shin
, Soon-Won
Park
, and Daqing
Yang
(eds.),
Rethinking Historical Injustice and Reconciliation in Northeast Asia: The Korean Experience
(London, UK: Routledge, 2007); Kuk
Cho
, “Transitional Justice in Korea: Legally Coping with Past Wrongs after Democratization,”
Pacific Rim Law & Policy Journal
, Vol.
16
, No. 3 (2007).
4
For rare exceptions, see Deuk-jung
Kim
,
“
Ppalgaengi”-ui Tansaeng: Yeosun Sageon-gua Bangong Gukga-ui Hyeongseong [The Birth of the “Reds”: The Yeosun Events and the Formation of Anticommunist State]
(Seoul: Seonin, 2009); Dong Choon
Kim
,
Jeonjaeng-gua Sahoe [War and Society]
(Seoul: Dolbaegae, 2000); Jung-seok
Seo
,
Cho Bong-am-gua 1950-nyeondae (ha) [Cho Bong-am and 1950s, Vol. 2]
(Seoul: Yeoksa Bipyeong, 1999).
5
Dong-Choon
Kim
, “The Long Road toward Truth and Reconciliation,”
Critical Asian Studies
, Vol.
42
, No. 4 (2010), p. 550.
6
Michael E.
Robinson
,
Korea's Twentieth-Century Odyssey
, 6th ed. (Honolulu, HI: University of Hawaii Press, 2007), p. 43.
7
Robinson,
Korea's Twentieth-Century Odyssey
, p. 48.
8
Gi-Wook
Shin
,
Ethnic Nationalism in Korea: Genealogy, Politics, and Legacy
(Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2006), pp. 42–45.
9
Shin,
Ethnic Nationalism in Korea
, p. 45.
10
Robinson,
Korea's Twentieth-Century Odyssey
, pp. 97–98.
11
Bonnie B.C.
Oh
(ed.),
Korea under the American Military Government, 1945–1948
(Westport, CN: Praeger, 2002).
12
Se Kyoon
Kim
, “Minjung Movement in Early Liberation Years,” in Research Institute for Korean Politics (ed.),
Modern Korean Politics 1945–1948
(Seoul: Seoul National University, 1993), pp. 74–75; Chan-Pyo
Park
, “The American Military Government and the Framework for Democracy in South Korea,” in Bonnie B.C.
Oh
(ed.),
Korea under the American Military Government, 1945–1948
(Westport, CN: Praeger, 2002).
13
Bruce
Cumings
,
The Origins of the Korean War, Volume II: The Roaring of the Cataract, 1947–1950
(Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2004), p. 237.
14
In Korea, major historic events are remembered by their date of occurrence. For example, the Korean War, which broke out on June 25, 1950, is referred to as “the 6.25 (War).” Within this tradition, the armed conflicts in Jeju are commonly referred to as the Jeju 4.3 events.
15
Jeju
Commission
,
Jeju Sasam Sageon Jinsang Josa Bogoseo [Report of the Truth About the Jeju 4.3 Events]
(Seoul: Jeju Commission, 2003).
16
Jeju Commission,
Jeju Sasam Sageon Jinsang Josa Bogoseo.
17
Kim,
“Ppalgaengi”-ui Tansaeng: Yeosun Sageon-gua Bangong Gukga-ui Hyeongseong [The Birth of the “Reds”: The Yeosun Events and the Formation of Anticommunist State]
, p. 353.
18
Robinson,
Korea's Twentieth-Century Odyssey
, p. 114.
19
Jung Seok
Seo
,
Cho Bongam gua 1950 [Cho Bong Am and 1950s, Vol. 2]
(Seoul: Yoksa Bipyung, 1999).
20
See generally, Gi-jin
Kim
,
Kkeutnaji Aneun Jeonjaeng, Gukmin Bodo Yeonmaeng [Unfinished War: Civilian Massacres during the Korean War]
(Seoul: Yeoksa Bipyeong, 2002).
21
Kim,
Jeonjaeng-gua Sahoe [War and Society]
.
22
Robinson,
Korea's Twentieth-Century Odyssey
, pp. 125–127.
23
Robinson,
Korea's Twentieth-Century Odyssey
, p. 122.
24
Gregory
Henderson
,
Korea: Politics of the Vortex
(Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1968), pp. 162–163.
25
Byung-joon
Jung
, “Attempts to Settle the Past during the April Popular Struggle,”
Korea Journal
, Vol.
42
, No. 3 (2002), p. 99.
26
John
Kie-chiang Oh
,
Korean Politics: The Quest for Democratization and Economic Development
(Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1999), p. 44.
27
Won
Soon Park
,
Gukgaboanbeop Yeongu 1: Gukgaboanbeop Byeoncheonsa [A Study of National Security Act 1]
(Seoul: Yoksa Bipyung, 1994), p. 194.
28
Shin,
Ethnic Nationalism in Korea: Genealogy, Politics, and Legacy
, p. 103.
29
Jang
Jip Choi
, “Political Cleavages in South Korea,” in Hagen
Koo
(ed.),
State and Society in Contemporary Korea
(Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1993).
30
Oh,
Korean Politics: The Quest for Democratization and Economic Development
, pp. 59–60.
31
May 18 Memorial Foundation, at
http://www.518.org
(accessed May 28, 2012).
32
Uk
Heo
and Terence
Roehrig
,
South Korea since 1980
(New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010), pp. 35.
33
Oh,
Korean Politics: The Quest for Democratization and Economic Development
, p. 91.
34
Sunhyuk
Kim
,
The Politics of Democratization in Korea: The Role of Civil Society
(Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2000), pp. 91–92.
35
Roh was elected president with 36.6 percent of total votes because opposing power was not able to achieve a united candidacy and instead split between Kim Young-sam (28 percent) and Kim Dae-jung (27 percent). Heo and Roehrig,
South Korea since 1980
, pp. 40–41.
36
Si-Uk
Nam
,
Hanguk Bosu Seryeok Yeongu [A Study of Conservatives in Korea]
(Seoul: Cheong Media, 2011), p. 471.
37
The Special Act for the Punishment of the Anti-Nation Activities (Law No. 3 of 1948)
38
For more details,
see
Jong
Heo
,
Banmin Teukui Jojik-gua Hwaldong [The Organization and Activities of the Special Committee for Investigation of the Pro-Japanese Collaborators]
(Seoul: Seonin, 2003); Kang-Soo
Lee
,
Banmin Teukui Yeongu [A Study of the Special Committee for Investigation of the Pro-Japanese Collaborators]
(Seoul: Nanam, 2003).
39
The Special Act for the Punishment of the Anti-Nation Activities, article 1.
40
Heo,
Banmin Teukui Jojik-gua Hwaldong [The Organization and Activities of the Special Committee for Investigation of the Pro-Japanese Collaborators]
, p. 271.
41
Heo,
Banmin Teukui Jojik-gua Hwaldong.
42
For instance, Rhee even refused to remove identified collaborators, such as Roh Deok-sul, an infamous police detective during the colonialism, from his administration.
43
Heo,
Banmin Teukui Jojik-gua Hwaldong [The Organization and Activities of the Special Committee for Investigation of the Pro-Japanese Collaborators]
, p. 331.
44
Heo,
Banmin Teukui Jojik-gua Hwaldong
, p. 351.
45
Heo,
Banmin Teukui Jojik-gua Hwaldong
, pp. 297–300.
46
The Committees for the Investigation of Anti-Nation Activities under the Japanese Colonialism was established by the Special Act for the Investigation of Anti-Nation Activities under the Japanese Colonialism (Law No. 7203 of 2004).
47
The Special Act for the Investigation of Anti-Nation Activities under the Japanese Colonialism, article 4.
48
The Committees for the Investigation of Anti-Nation Activities under the Japanese Colonialism
,
Chinil Banminjok Haengwi Jinsang Gyumyeong Bogoseo [Report of the Anti-Nation Activities under the Japanese Colonialism]
, 4 vols. (Seoul: The Committees for the Investigation of Anti-Nation Activities under the Japanese Colonialism, 2009).
49
The Special Committee for the Investigation of Forced Labor under the Japanese Colonialism was created by the Special Act for the Investigation of Forced Labor under the Japanese Colonialism (Law No. 7174 of 2004).
50
The Special Committee for the Investigation of Forced Labor under the Japanese Colonialism, at
http://www.jiwon.go.kr
(accessed May 25, 2012).
51
The Committee for the Investigation of the Properties of Pro-Japanese Collaborators was set up by the Special Act for the Reversion of the Properties of Pro-Japanese Collaborators (Law No. 7769 of 2005).
52
The Committee for the Investigation of the Properties of Pro-Japanese Collaborators
,
Decisions (on the Reversion of the Pro-Japanese Collaborators’ Properties to the State)
, 3 vols. (Seoul: The Committee for the Investigation of the Properties of Pro-Japanese Collaborators, 2010).
53
Jeju Commission,
Jeju Sasam Sageon Jinsang Josa Bogoseo [Report of the Truth About the Jeju 4.3 Events]
.
54
The Special Act for the Investigation of the Jeju 4.3 Events and Restoration of the Honor of Victims (Law No. 6117 of 2000).
55
The Special Act for the Investigation of the Jeju 4.3 Events and Restoration of the Honor of Victims, articles 6 and 7.
56
Jeju Commission,
Jeju Sasam Sageon Jinsang Josa Bogoseo [Report of the Truth About the Jeju 4.3 Events]
, pp. 46, 52.
57
The Special Act for the Investigation of the Jeju 4.3 Events and Restoration of the Honor of Victims, articles 5 and 6.
58
See generally, Jeju Commission,
Jeju Sasam Sageon Jinsang Josa Bogoseo [Report of the Truth About the Jeju 4.3 Events]
.
59
Jeju Commission, at
http://www.jeju43.go.kr/english/
(accessed May 28, 2012).
60
Jeju Commission, at
http://www.jeju43.go.kr/english/
(accessed May 28, 2012).
61
Truth and Reconciliation Commission Republic of Korea
,
Jinsil Hwahae Wiweonhoe Jonghap Bogoseo [The Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Republic of Korea]
, 4 vols., vol. 3. Mass Sacrifice of Civilian (Seoul: Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Republic of Korea, 2010), pp. 93–94.
62
Truth and Reconciliation Commission Republic of Korea, pp. 93–94.
63
Truth and Reconciliation Commission Republic of Korea, pp. 93–94.
64
Seo,
Cho Bong-am-gua 1950-nyeondae (ha) [Cho Bong-am and 1950s, Vol. 2]
, pp. 683–684.
65
Seo,
Cho Bong-am-gua 1950-nyeondae (ha)
, pp. 683–684.
66
Seo,
Cho Bong-am-gua 1950-nyeondae (ha)
, p. 685.
67
Jung, “Attempts to Settle the Past during the April Popular Struggle,” p. 104.
68
Jung, “Attempts to Settle the Past during the April Popular Struggle,” p. 104.