Lee vows to abolish statute of limitations for state violence at Jeju April 3 Uprising memorial

President Lee Jae Myung offers incense at the memorial tower at the Jeju 4.3 Peace Park on Jeju Island, Sunday. Joint Press Corps

Seventy-eight years after tens of thousands of Jeju residents were killed in a state-led massacre, President Lee Jae Myung visited the island Sunday to honor the victims and pledge to ensure perpetrators of such violence can never outrun the law.

“Remembering the Jeju April 3 Uprising and to prevent the recurrence of state violence, I will abolish the statute of limitations system for civil and criminal cases,” he wrote in the guestbook at the Jeju 4.3 Peace Park, where the tragedy — which killed nearly 10 percent of the island's population between 1948 and 1954 — is commemorated each year on April 3.

After paying tribute, Lee and first lady Kim Hea Kyung shared a luncheon with bereaved families of the victims, offering comfort and expressing solidarity. In his opening remarks, Lee said that the Jeju April 3 Uprising is a chapter of history that must never be forgotten, while expressing respect and gratitude for the dedication of bereaved families and Jeju residents who have worked to uncover the truth.

President Lee Jae Myung writes in the guestbook at the memorial hall housing ancestral tablets at the Jeju 4.3 Peace Park on Jeju Island, Sunday. Joint Press Corps

“Every April, Jeju comes to mind first, because the Jeju April 3 Uprising is one of the greatest tragedies in Korea's modern history. As president, I feel deeply sorry when I think of the Jeju residents who fell victim to such brutal state violence," Lee said.

He pledged to make every effort to restore the honor of the victims of the massacre, adding that his government would pursue institutional improvements in consultation with the National Assembly to counter the distortion and denigration of the historical event.

Lee described the massacre as “an inhumane crime of state violence that occurred amid ideological conflict,” and also pointed out that survivors and bereaved families were long denied even the right to properly mourn, having been forced into silence throughout authoritarian rule. It was only after the enactment of the Jeju April 3 Special Act in 2000 and an official government investigation that the truth began to emerge, accompanied by a formal state apology.

President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a luncheon meeting with bereaved families of victims of the Jeju April 3 massacre at a hotel on Jeju Island, Sunday. Joint Press Corps

“While the Jeju April 3 Uprising was a tragedy in our modern history, the process of resolving it has become an important milestone showing what kind of society we should strive toward,” Lee said. “It stands as a model of peace, reconciliation and resolution that other cases of state violence can learn from.”

The president also announced plans to extend the ninth reporting period for victims and their families, as well as deadlines for family registration corrections, such as those involving missing persons, marriages and adoptions, and compensation applications.

“Finally, we will completely eliminate statutes of limitations for state violence crimes, ensuring that perpetrators bear criminal responsibility for as long as they live, and that liability extends to inherited assets within legal bounds,” Lee said.

Presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung added that the government will actively push for the construction of an archive to preserve the Jeju April 3 Uprising and Massacre records, which were inscribed in UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register in 2025, so they can serve as a symbol of peace.

President Lee Jae Myung listens to an attendee's remarks during a luncheon meeting with bereaved families of victims of the Jeju April 3 massacre at a hotel on Jeju Island, Sunday. Joint Press Corps

Earlier the same day, the president shared a message on X (formerly Twitter), describing the Jeju April 3 Uprising and Massacre as “one of the worst cases of state violence.” He said he was going to visit the memorial later in the day to pay tribute to the victims and pray for the souls of those who were “killed without knowing why, stabbed with bamboo spears, shot with carbines or buried alive.”

“I will also push to ensure the enactment of a law excluding the criminal statute of limitations and the civil statute of limitations for state violence crimes,” he added.

Three bills aimed at abolishing statutes of limitations for state violence crimes are currently pending review at the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee. A similar bill passed the National Assembly in December 2024, but was vetoed by then-acting President Choi Sang-mok, who also served as deputy prime minister and finance minister.

President Lee Jae Myung views victims' name tablets housed inside the memorial hall at the Jeju 4.3 Peace Park on Jeju Island, Sunday. Joint Press Corps

In the same social media post, Lee also outlined plans to revoke state honors awarded to perpetrators of state violence. He emphasized that the policy would target those responsible for “the worst crimes of state violence, such as torture, fabricated cases, and judicial killings.”

Lee made the comment while sharing a link to a local news report. The report noted that Lee Geun-an, a notorious “torture technician” who died last week, had received 16 state honors during his lifetime, highlighting how a significant number of perpetrators were awarded government decorations.

Many of those individuals reportedly still retain their honors. However, police have begun procedures to cancel such honors granted to people involved in state-sanctioned abuses, which Lee described as “a belated but necessary measure.”