By Kim Sue-young
Staff Reporter
More than 400 civilians labeled left-wingers were killed by the military and police in the southwestern Jeolla region during an uprising six decades ago, according to an independent commission.
The massacre in Yeosu and Suncheon, often called the Yeosun Incident after the first syllables of the two cities, took place in October of 1948, when nearly 2,000 soldiers rebelled against a government order to crackdown on another uprising on Jeju Island.
``The civilian death toll in the Suncheon area was confirmed as 439,'' the Truth and Reconciliation Commission reported. ``But it could be as high as 2,000, since some families did not request an investigation and some victims lacked witnesses.''
The organization also said that martial law instituted by then-President Syngman Rhee ultimately caused the slaughter.
The former president issued the warning on Nov. 4, 1948, that ``impure people'' would be removed regardless of age and sex so as to prevent rebellious ideology from running rampant.
After Korea's liberation from Japanese colonial rule (1910-45), Seoul was keen on forming an anti-communist state with hostility toward Stalinist Pyongyang.
``The commission sees Rhee's warning as having resulted in a forcible clampdown on civilians while ferreting out supporters for the rebel army,'' the report said.
It explained that the victims were executed for providing the rebel army with meals or just living near a field of operations, and the military illegally arrested and tortured civilians.
The commission added the Ministry of National Defense, President Rhee and the state are ultimately responsible for the incident.
The organization clarified that the killing was a massacre, noting there were no legal grounds for such actions.
Kim Dong-choon, a member of the commission, said knowledge of the incident must be made public in order to provide accurate information on South Korea's political and social history.
The commission advised the government to offer an apology to bereaved families, commemorate the victims and provide the military and police with an educational program on human rights.