Executive Summary:

A Comprehensive Report on the Unrepatriated ROK Prisoners of War Issue

Kyoung Seop Oh, Yeo Sang Yoon, Seon Haeng Hur

An enduring tragedy of the Korean War is the story of tens of thousands of South Korean POWs
who have been held in North Korea after the armistice in 1953. The North Koreans have denied
the existence of any POWs kept against their will and have repeatedly claimed they had
repatriated all South Korean POWs who wished to return.

In 1994, Lt. Cho Chang Ho was the first South Korean POW to escape from North Korea. Since
then, 70 other men have managed to escape and it is estimated that at least 500 POWs survive in
North Korea.

The Database Center for North Korean Human Rights conducted in depth interviews with 20 of
the 70 former POWs who have escaped North Korea and made it to South Korea. Interviewees
told their stories from how they were captured, their treatment as POWs during the war, and their
lives in North Korea, including their families and work, how they escaped from North Korea and
how they have adapted to life in South Korea.

While many South Korean soldiers became POWs throughout the fighting, half of those
interviewed had been captured in 1953.

POWs were forced to join the North Korean military and assigned difficult and dangerous
work such as construction brigades and unexploded ordinance disposla and later were
sent to work in coal mines.

Many South Korean POWs were not told of prisoner exchanges and just told that they
could not return due to the cease-fire. This denial of repatriation was a violation of the
armistice terms.

In 1956, South Korean POWs were officially given North Korean citizenship and most
continued to work in coal mines.

Throughout their lives in North Korea, they were under surveillance (even when they
were admitted into the Communist Party) and discrimination.

The discrimination extended to their children who were barred from attending university,
or serving in North Korea's military forces – some of the few ways they could improve
their status in North Korea's rigid caste system.

Private brokers (who charge over $100,000 to arrange an escape from North Korea)
played a large role in finding and helping the POWs and their families escape and even
making contact with relatives in South Korea. These brokers are motivated by large the
lump sum payments POWs receive from the South Korean government once they reach
South Korea.

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 The escape involves bribing many North Korean government and military officials. It is
still very dangerous. One of the interviewees had been arrested by Chinese officials after
crossing the border into China and sent back to North Korea where he was severly
punished.

While the POWs are relieved to have escaped from North Korea, they suffer from health
problems and depression from worries about the families they have left in North Korea.
Some have had difficulties managing their money.

The South Korean government has tried unsuccessfully for years to get North Korea negotiate on
the POW issue. Several policy recommendations are:

1) A systematic and comprehensive effort to collect information on the

surviving POWs. The testimony of former POWs and other refugees from
North Korea can provide important information.

2) Official aid to POWs and their families in North Korea by the South
Korean government. This is something that must be negotiated with North
Korea and requires reliable data collection on the whereabouts of the
surviving POWs in North Korea.

3) Increasing the allocation of quotas for South Korean POWs in the Red
Cross's family reunion efforts for families split between North and South
Korea.

4) Secret negotiations with North Korea regarding POWs and other abducted
South Korean citizens. West German efforts to free political prisoners in
East Germany provides many lessons on how best to conduct such a
program.

5) Active efforts to help POWs and their families escape from North Korea.
South Korean diplomatic missions should be given explicit orders and
resources to help escaping POWs and their families. Funding should be
provided to help POWs get their family members out of North Korea as
well.

There are ways South Korea can improve the care of POWs that successfully escape to South
Korea. Since there are relatively a small number of POWs and former abductees, a concierge
service to help each individual with their medical and legal issues and manage their money and
counseling services for readjusting to life in South Korea could be extremely helpful.
Establishing an organization specifically tasked with systematic and long term support for former
POWs and abductees and their families is recommended.

We hope there is an increased interest in the welfare of the POWs still in North Korea and who
have returned. We hope this leads to improved policies that help relieve the tragedy.
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