President Lee Jae Myung said Friday the government will push to remove the statutes of limitations for criminal and civil cases involving those who commit state violence, as he honored victims of a 1948 civilian massacre on Jeju Island.

Lee reiterated his earlier pledge as he marked the anniversary of the crackdown on the April 3 uprising against U.S. military-led rule following Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.


"I offer deep condolences and sympathy to the surviving victims and bereaved families of the Jeju April 3 incident," Lee wrote on Facebook.

While Korea's post-liberation history includes periods of growth and prosperity, Lee said it also contains a dark chapter marked by severe state violence. He noted that Jeju residents have worked to uncover the truth and restore the honor of victims.

Lee vowed to prevent such tragedies from recurring by abolishing the statute of limitations for state violence and holding those responsible accountable.

"I will ensure that, by abolishing the statute of limitations for state violence, responsibility for such acts can never be evaded as long as those responsible are alive," he said.

The April 3 incident refers to a government crackdown that began in 1947 and lasted more than seven years, during which authorities, viewing the uprising as a communist rebellion, killed an estimated 14,000 to 30,000 civilians — up to 10 percent of Jeju Island's population.

Yonhap