South Korea takes a brave look back

The pursuit of peace often trumps the pursuit of justice. The desire to move forward after a war makes political leaders reluctant to stir up old resentments or dig deep into atrocities of the past. But history ignored can become history denied, not to mention repeated. For that reason, we applaud the South Korean Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s painstaking investigation into the massacre of thousands of leftists during the Korean War half a century ago. Whether it’s the murder of six Jesuit priests in El Salvador or 6 million Jews by Nazi Germany, war crimes must be brought to light. South Korea’s efforts should serve as an example to governments everywhere, and we urge President Lee Myung-bak to let the work continue until it is complete.

The commission recently announced that it had documented the executions of at least 4,934 civilians by South Korean military and police in the opening months of the war. The victims had been signed up for government reeducation classes but then were killed out of fear they would help communist forces from the North trying to topple the U.S.-allied government in the South. It was apparently just one of several massacres, and represents perhaps just 10% of the total such deaths. The commission has yet to identify those who issued the orders, although witnesses have testified that orders came from the “top,” and recently declassified U.S. cables have shown that American military officers were aware of the massacres at the time and present for at least one.

For decades, it was taboo in South Korea to discuss the killings. Historians relied on ad hoc oral and written accounts, but many survivors and relatives of victims kept silent for fear of reprisals. Even now, conservatives who helped elect Lee in 2007 have pressed him to stop the investigations, in part because of ongoing hostility toward communist North Korea.

More than 35 countries have established truth commissions in recent decades to confront the traumas of the past. Human rights activists consider those set up by Peru, East Timor, Morocco and South Africa to be among the best. But South Korea certainly was not alone in trying to forget the dark chapters of its history. Spain has never thoroughly documented the human rights abuses committed during the dictatorship of Francisco Franco. Brazil has not confronted its history of torture and disappearances under two decades of military dictatorship. Similarly, the countries of the former Yugoslavia have not fully investigated crimes committed during the Balkan conflicts of the 1990s. People in all these countries are demanding an accounting of their history. Establishing the truth is a first step toward justice -- a courageous step the South Koreans have taken.