The 23rd Memorial Ceremony for Missing Victims of the Jeju April 3rd Incident was held at 10 AM on the 20th at the Memorial Altar for the Missing in Jeju April 3rd Peace Park.

Hosted by the Jeju April 3rd Victims’ Families Association and organized by the Jeju April 3rd Missing Victims’ Families Association, the ceremony was attended by over 600 people, including Jeju Governor Oh Young-hoon, local National Assembly members, and families of the victims.

The ceremony began with a traditional ritual, followed by the laying of flowers, incense offerings, progress reports, themed addresses, memorial speeches, and the reading of a memorial poem.

In his themed address, Yang Seong-hong, Chairman of the Jeju April 3rd Missing Victims’ Families Association, stated, “Although individual compensation for the victims is underway, many issues remain unresolved. The families will continue to strive for the restoration of honor and the truth to be revealed.”

Chairman Kim Chang-beom of the Jeju April 3rd Victims’ Families Association expressed his condolences to the souls of the missing who never returned to their families and extended his deepest sympathies to the bereaved families in his memorial speech.

Jeju Governor Oh Young-hoon stated, “The Jeju April 3rd Incident, overcome through reconciliation and coexistence, has established itself as a proud chapter in Korean history. However, even after 76 years, the missing victims who have not found peace remain a sorrow for Jeju and a tragedy in modern Korean history.”

Furthermore, Governor Oh highlighted the efforts to ease the grief and sorrow of the bereaved families through the excavation of remains from outside Jeju. He mentioned the remains of the late Kim Han-hong, who went missing during his imprisonment at Daejeon Prison during the April 3rd Incident, were identified and returned to his hometown after being excavated from Golryeong Valley in Daejeon last August, 74 years after the incident.

Governor Oh concluded by emphasizing, “The Jeju Provincial Government will not cease its efforts toward a just resolution of the April 3rd Incident to ensure that not a single soul who perished without a name is forgotten. We will strive to elevate the commemorative events for the unknown and missing victims and ensure they are honored with the utmost respect, allowing for full remembrance of the pain present throughout the island.”