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거창양민학살사건의 법적 해결 -관련법의 개정방안을 중심으로- : Drafting Legal Remedies to the Kochang Massacre during the Korean War
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- Authors
- Issue Date
- 2001
- Publisher
- 서울대학교 법학연구소
- Citation
- 법학, Vol.42 No.4, pp. 174-214
- Keywords
- 영토분단과 체제갈등 ; 거창양민학살 ; 육군 제11사단 소속병력 ; 무고한 양민의 대량학살사건 ; 육군 제11사단의 사단장 최덕신(崔德新)
- Abstract
- In February of 1951, the Korean Army, who was conducting military
operations against Communist guerrillas, massacred 719 unarmed villagers in
Kochang County in the southeast part of the Korean Peninsula. Even though
they had no justifiable evidence, the Army suspected the villagers of
supporting guerrillas. Almost half of those killed were under the age of 14,
and more women were killed than men. Such killings were not confined to
Kochang area, because the army occasionally abused its power in the course
of military operations during the Korean War (1950-1953).
What made the Kochang incident unique in the Korean War was the
courageous response of the survivors. A delegate from Kochang revealed the
massacre to the National Assembly, and various sectors of the government
sought to discover the truth despite strong pressure to silence them. As a
result, a military tribunal found guilty some of the officers involved. The
Kochang trial remained the only case in which military massacre of
non-combatants had been punished during wartime.
Even after the crime was officially recognized by judicial decision and
governmental report, the atmosphere of anti-Communism and militarism
overshadowed the survivors outcry for restorative justice. The survivors who
argued for full disclosure and reparations were neglected or harassed under the
subsequent military regime. It was not until 1996 (under the Kim Young Sam
civilian government) that the National Assembly passed the Special Act
concerning Kochang Incident (called the Kochang Act). The Act, implemented
by the government, provided funding for memorial works including a memorial
- ISSN
- 1598-222X
- Language
- Korean
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