Executions
Kim Il-sung's communist army attacked from the North in June 1950, starting the Korean War. According to Kim Mansik, who was a military police superior officer, President Syngman Rhee ordered the execution of Bodo League and South Korean Workers Party related people on 27 June, the first massacre was started in Hoengseong, Gangwon-do on 28 June. Retreating South Korean forces and anti communist groups executed the alleged-communist prisoners, along with many of the Bodo League members. The executions were without any trials.
United States official documents show American officers witnessed and photographed the massacre. In one case a US officer is known to have sanctioned the killing of political prisoners to avoid their coming into enemy hands. On the other hand, United States official document showed that John Muccio, then United States Ambassador to South Korea, made recommendations to South Korean President Rhee Syngman and Defense Minister Shin Sung-mo that the executions be stopped. American witnesses also reported the scene of 12- or 13-year old girls' executions. The massacre was also reported to both Washington and General Douglas MacArthur.
There were also British and Australian witnesses. Britain raised this issue with the U.S. at a diplomatic level, causing Dean Rusk, Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs, to inform the British that U.S. commanders were doing "everything they can to curb such atrocities".
South Korean Retired Admiral Nam Sang-hui confessed that he authorized 200 victims' bodies to be thrown into the sea, saying: "There was no time for trials for them."
Read more about this topic: Bodo League Massacre
Famous quotes containing the word executions:
“[Asserting] important First Amendment rights ... why should [executions] be the one area that is conducted behind closed doors?... Why shouldn’t executions be public?”
—Phil Donahue (b. 1935)