4·3 distortion controversy monument to be displayed ‘with the truth’ instead of demolished

Instead of demolishing the monuments that were controversial for distorting the history of the April 3 Incident, Jeju Island moved them to the April 3 Peace Park and installed a 'Right Truth' information board containing objective facts next to them. The purpose is to set the truth straight without erasing history.

Jeju Island, the 4/3 Peace Foundation, and the 4/3 Victims' Families Association announced on the 28th that they had relocated the Ham Byeong-seon public monument, the military and police public memorial, and the royal memorial monument to the 4/3 Peace Park in Bonggae-dong, Jeju City, and erected an information board next to it. This measure is the second historical correction, following the installation of the first information board next to the memorial to Colonel Park Jin-kyung, who led the hard-line suppression of civilians in December last year.

General Ham Byeong-seon, the person who led the mass murder of 400 people in Bukchon-ri

The recently relocated Ham Byeong-seon Public Monument was established in June 1949 under the name of the ‘Nam Jeju County Branch of the Jeju Public Security Management Committee’ and was located within the Special Operations Command Training Center in Odeung-dong, Jeju-si.

According to the government's 4/3 fact-finding report, Ham Byeong-seon led the mass murder of about 400 residents of Bukchon-ri, Jocheon-myeon in January 1949 after taking office as commander of the 2nd Regiment. Additionally, as the supreme commander of two court martials, it is recorded that he punished numerous civilians without due trial procedures.

Related organizations, including the 4/3 Bereaved Families Association, have continuously called for the installation of information boards with a correct understanding of history, saying, “The existence of such a memorial on Jeju Island, where the history of massacre still remains, is further evidence of the 4/3 distortion.”

The neglected military and police public funds and loyalty fees are also relocated.

The military and police public funds and royal wedding expenses that were moved together were left unattended at the Jeju Regional Meteorological Administration site. The public monument erected in August 1949 is engraved commemorating the achievements of the soldiers and police officers of the 2nd Regiment, the Korean Youth Corps, and the Civil Protection Corps. The memorial stone erected the following year commemorates the 860 victims of military, police, and right-wing groups.

Jeju Island relocated these monuments to the Peace Park after discussions with an advisory group to respond to the April 3 historical distortions and consultations with related organizations, and indicated historical facts not included in the monuments on information boards.

Commemorative event held at the site of history

About 50 people attended the event, including Jeju Governor Oh Young-hoon, Jeju Island Council April 3rd Special Committee Chairman Ha Seong-yong, April 3rd Peace Foundation Chairman Lim Moon-cheol, and April 3rd Bereaved Family Association Chairman Kim Chang-beom. Following the silent prayer and progress report for the April 3 Incident, poet Kim Soo-yeol commemorated the victims by reciting the poem 'For the Dead Chicks', which compared the tragedy of the April 3 Incident to a chick that lost its mother.

Jeju Island plans to sequentially proceed with the installation or relocation of information boards for facilities controversially distorting the April 3 Incident history, such as the marker for the old police station site, through consultation with the advisory group and related organizations.