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UNCLAS SEOUL 001511 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KS KN PGOV PHUM
SUBJECT: KOREA'S EFFORT TO UNCOVER PAST HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES 
SET TO FADE AWAY? 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  Two members of the ROK's Truth and 
Reconciliation Commission (TRC) told us they have sent the 
Ministry of National Defense updated findings regarding 
several Korean War incidents in which U.S. military aircraft 
allegedly killed ROK civilians indiscriminately.  Our TRC 
interlocutors cited a lack of Blue House support for the 
commission's work and the TRC's lack of enforcement or 
compensation powers as the primary reasons why the commission 
will not be able to clear its case backlog by April 2010, 
when its mandate will expire; accepting new petitions from 
human rights abuse victims is now out of the question. 
Despite its challenges, supporters hail the commission as a 
model for other countries in the region.  Our contacts 
asserted that the Blue House is unlikely to extend the 
commission's mandate in the hope that public interest in past 
human rights abuses will fade.  End Summary. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Korea,s movement to find truth and reconciliation 
for the thousands of verified incidents of human rights 
abuses during its history has always been a controversial 
issue.  Although the TRC commissioners have been pushing for 
more public support before their mandate expires, all 
indicators show that the current administration is determined 
to see the TRC administrators replaced and the movement 
slowed to a close after the commission,s term expires.  In 
particular, the Lee Administration is likely to be 
particularly cautious concerning the alleged American 
incidents, as it will be eager to avoid anything like the No 
Gun Ri controversy. 
 
Challenges Facing the TRC 
------------------------- 
 
¶3. (U) The ROK's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) 
was formed in 2005 by late ROK President Roh Moo-hyun to 
investigate human rights abuses during the Japanese colonial 
era, the Korean War and the ROK's authoritarian rule period. 
It has, since its creation, been a politically polarizing 
organization; critics on the right have highlighted its 
leftist bias while TRC supporters have, for example, 
criticized the Lee Myung-bak (LMB) Blue House for allegedly 
hindering the commission's ability to investigate petitions 
properly.  Poloff recently met with two senior officials from 
the TRC, as well as ROKG officials, to get a sense of where 
the organization is headed as its mandate winds down. 
 
¶4. (U) Kim Dong-choon, Standing Commissioner of the TRC,s 
Civilian Massacres Unit, told us pointedly that a lack of 
Blue House support for the commission's work and the lack of 
enforcement or compensation powers have effectively hamstrung 
the TRC.  Kim claimed the Blue House recently attempted to 
integrate the TRC into another, related commission in order 
to undermine its efforts.  The TRC's official ROKG liaison, 
Chung Peong-ho, rejected Kim's accusations.  Chung emphasized 
that the LMB administration has provided the same mandate, 
budgetary resources, personnel and interagency support as 
previous ROK governments.  Chung also said the attempt to 
merge the TRC was a part of President Lee,s broader public 
sector reform effort. 
 
Big Backlog Remains, Many Cases Unresolved 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶5.  (U) Commissioner Kim and You Han-beom, Director of the 
TRC's External Affairs Division, lamented that the TRC would 
not be able to finish its case backlog by next April.  They 
said that, as of September, the commission had investigated 
6,097 of the 11,017 petitions submitted to it.  The TRC 
determined that 4,387 petitions (72 percent of the 
investigated cases) were found "verifiable," with the rest 
being classified as "unverifiable" or "dismissed." 
 
¶6. (SBU) The TRC officials related that the commission has 
allegedly confirmed seven Korean War incidents (involving 119 
petitions in Yeochon, Wolmido, Danyang, Gyeonggi, Pohang, 
Euiryoung and Haman) in which they claim U.S. military 
aircraft killed Korean civilians indiscriminately.  (Note: 
The TRC has been investigating U.S.-related abuses since 
¶2005.  The results of the TRC's investigations have not yet 
been published and are awaiting National Assembly 
confirmation.  End Note.)  Commissioner Kim and Director You 
said the TRC had advised the ROK Ministry of National Defense 
(MND) to conduct joint surveys of each incident with the 
United States; solicit a USG acknowledgement or expression of 
regret for verified incidents; and, ask the USG to provide 
appropriate reparations to surviving family members.  Kim and 
 
You said that the TRC had not received a response from the 
MND. 
 
A Potential Model for East Asia or a Dying Movement? 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶7. (U) Kim and You emphasized that the TRC is the first such 
commission in East Asia and has been hailed by the 
international human rights community as model for other 
countries in the region.  They noted the TRC has verified 
more than 4,000 individual cases of human rights abuses, 
3,609 cases of mass killings by government entities, 653 
cases of abuses by leftist and Communist groups and located 
168 mass graves.  Based on TRC recommendations, the ROK 
Supreme Court has also reversed verdicts in 15 criminal 
cases.  Commissioner Kim said, though, that the TRC had 
plenty more work to do; he estimated that "tens of thousands" 
of human rights abuse victims have remained silent due to a 
lack of knowledge about the TRC and/or disillusionment with 
the current process.  According to You, major Korean-American 
community organizations have been lobbying for a second TRC 
petition application process; new petitions have not been 
accepted due to the TRC's formidable case backlog and 
expiring mandate. 
 
The Future: TRC to Just Fade Away? 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) Commissioner Kim asserted that the Blue House is 
unlikely to extend the TRC,s term, hoping instead that 
public interest in past human rights abuses will simply 
"expire with the commission."  If it is extended, Ahn 
Byung-ook, the TRC's president, fears that current TRC 
commissioners would most likely be replaced by commissioners 
more amenable to the Blue House political perspective.  Ahn 
recently told reporters that the TRC had approached the Blue 
House to propose that the LMB administration back passage of 
a law to compensate the families of victims of Korean War-era 
human rights abuses in lieu of extending the TRC's mandate. 
ROKG officials, including Chung Peong-ho, have countered that 
the fate of the TRC and the truth and reconciliation movement 
"lies with the will of the Korean people."  The Blue House 
has not yet announced whether the TRC,s mandate will be 
extended. 
STEPHENS