S. Korean President Moon vows to unearth truth, recover honor of tens of thousands killed in "Jeju, April the Third"

President Moon Jae-in attended a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the April third tragedy in Jeju.
The third South Korean leader to issue an apology over the state violence... made it clear, efforts to uncover the truth and honor the victims should never end.
Arirang's chief Cheongwadae correspondent Moon Connyoung has our top story. Turquoise-hued water... coal-black volcanic landscape... South Korea's southernmost island of Jeju is famous for its beautiful scenery and hearty local cuisine.

But, behind its sublime beauty lies a dark history.

April 3rd, 1948... is attributed to a seven-year long government-civilian clash stemming from an ideological division during which tens of thousands of islanders were brutally killed.

In the several decades after 1954, the country's authoritarian governments either distorted or covered up the truth behind it in the name of public order and peace.

Jeju 4.3 Peace Memorial Park

April 3rd, 2018.
Standing at a peace memorial park dedicated to anywhere between 14-thousand and 30-thousand victims... many of whose bodies were never found... President Moon Jae-in became only the third South Korean president to apologize for the ruthless massacre of 70 years ago.

"As president, I offer my deepest apology for the pain and suffering caused by state violence and I express my appreciation for all the efforts made to heal them."

Efforts to find the truth and restore the honor of victims started in the late 1990s under the liberal president of the time, Kim Dae-jung, and were continued by his like-minded successor Roh Moo-hyun... who became the first South Korean president to issue an official apology and attend a memorial service for the victims.

But these efforts fizzled out as budgets were cut and research was stopped under the following conservative administrations.

"Today, I pledge to steadily move toward the complete resolution of the April 3 incident.
Never again will our efforts to verify the truth and restore the victims' honor be suspended or pulled back."

Making note of those who still refuse to recognize the Jeju Incident, President Moon called on the nation to face squarely the dark side of Korean history... free of ideological or political agenda.

"Standing before the souls of the victims of the April 3 incident, we reaffirm that peace and co-existence can only stand based on truths, not ideologies."

The human rights lawyer-turned-president, whose key campaign pledge was to find and establish
the truth about the Jeju Incident... stressed that only then can we repent of the unfortunate past and recover the "universal value of mankind."

"My fellow Koreans, Spring is coming in Jeju."

Moon Connyoung, Arirang News.