South Korean families urge President Lee to attend abductee ceremony
· UPIJune 24 (Asia Today) -- Families of South Koreans abducted or detained by North Korea are calling on President Lee Jae Myung to attend a remembrance ceremony Sunday, saying his presence would demonstrate the government's commitment to resolving their cases.
South Korea will hold its second official Korean War Abductees Remembrance Day ceremony at Imjingak in Paju, near the inter-Korean border.
The observance became a statutory national remembrance day in 2024. The first government-sponsored ceremony was held last year shortly after the Lee administration took office.
Lee and Unification Minister Chung Dong-young have not made final decisions on whether to attend this year's ceremony but are leaning toward staying away, Asia Today learned Wednesday.
Lee is considering sending written commemorative remarks instead of attending in person.
Chung reportedly met Wednesday with representatives of the Korean War Abductees' Families Association, which is jointly organizing the ceremony, and informed them that he was unlikely to attend.
Some observers said the government may be concerned that emphasizing North Korea's responsibility for wartime abductions could complicate its efforts to reduce inter-Korean tensions and promote peaceful coexistence.
Vice Unification Minister Kim Nam-jung attended the inaugural ceremony last year. That event took place during the earliest days of the Lee administration, when the government was focused on appointing officials and establishing its policy agenda.
Families therefore view this year's ceremony as the administration's first full opportunity to demonstrate its position on Korean War abductees, South Koreans currently detained in North Korea and unrepatriated prisoners of war.
The families have also asked Lee to address comments he made at a Dec. 3 news conference for foreign media.
When asked about South Korean citizens held in North Korea, Lee responded that it was the first time he had heard about the issue.
Families of the detainees said the remarks raised questions about whether the administration understood the cases or considered their return a priority.
"The president's attendance would be a symbolic step showing the government's concern for the abductee issue," said Lee Sung Eui, chief director of the Korean War Abductees' Families Association.
"President Lee emphasizes protecting South Korean citizens, but it feels as though he is turning away from the abductee issue," she said.
Choi Jin-young, a representative of the ROK Hostages' Families Association, said Lee has publicly addressed cases involving South Korean citizens in Cambodia, Israel and other countries but has said little about citizens abducted or detained by North Korea.
"There is distrust regarding the Lee administration's sincerity on the abductee issue," Choi said.
Choi is the son of missionary Choi Chun-gil, who has been held in North Korea since 2014. His family has received no reliable information about his health or whereabouts.
At least six South Korean citizens are known to have been detained in North Korea since the 2010s, including three Christian missionaries and three North Korean defectors who had resettled in South Korea.
North Korea has not allowed the detainees to contact their families or receive South Korean consular assistance.
Family organizations noted that Lee has personally attended ceremonies commemorating the May 18, 1980, Gwangju democracy movement, the April 19, 1960, student-led uprising, the victims of the Jeju uprising and the South Korean service members killed in clashes with North Korea in the Yellow Sea.
They said his absence from Sunday's ceremony could create the impression that the government places less importance on victims abducted or detained by North Korea.
"Like the victims of the Jeju uprising and the Gwangju democracy movement, the people who were abducted were also South Korean victims," Lee Sung Eui said.
"Last year, the remembrance day was designated as a statutory observance. We question why the president should not attend personally."
Son Myeong-hwa, representative of the Korean War POW Family Association, said Lee's participation would show that the country had not forgotten its abductees, detainees and prisoners of war.
"If President Lee attends the ceremony, it will signify that the government continues to remember its citizens who were abducted or detained," Son said.
The National Assembly amended the Act on Finding the Truth of the Damage from North Korean Abduction during the Korean War and Restoring the Honor of the Victims in December 2024.
The amendment designated June 28 as Korean War Abductees Remembrance Day to honor the victims and increase public awareness of wartime abductions.
The date marks the day North Korean forces captured Seoul three days after the Korean War began in 1950.
Before the observance received legal status, the Korean War Abductees' Families Association organized annual private ceremonies on that date.
The Unification Ministry and the association have jointly organized the event since it became a statutory remembrance day.
-- Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI
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Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260624010008452