By Lee Chi-dong Staff Reporter

SEOUL?purred by public attention on the Nogun-ri killings, a bereaved families’ group for investigating civilian killings during the Korean War has launched an active move to seek reparations and recovery of the victims’ honor.

The group said on Jan.25 that it petitioned the National Assembly previous week for legislation of a special law on finding the truth about all massacres of innocent civilians during the 1950-3 Korean War.

The group also urged the parliament to form a fact-finding committee and recover the honor of victims thorough investigations, as well as console the bereaved families’ sorrow.

``There were more than 100 uninvestigated cases of killings by American soldiers, local police, soldiers and rightist groups as well as North Korean soldiers at the time of establishing the government in 1948 and the Korean War. The Nogun-ri incident is just the tip of the iceberg,’’ said a spokesman from the group.

He added that if the bill is passed, it will be helpful for streamlining the sporadic efforts for government-level reparations, which bereaved families have so far pursued individually.

Authorities are currently investigating civilian killings at Kochang in Kyongsang-namdo and Cheju, which is dubbed as the 4.3 Incident, on the basis of a special law. On the other hand, investigations into massacres at Moonkyoung in Kyongsang-pukto and Hampyong in Cholla-namdo are being conducted at the local government level.
lcd@koreatimes.co.kr