Confirmation of identity after 10 years of excavation of remains… Bereaved family “I cry at the thought of my poor brother”
The identity of the soldier who died in the Korean War was confirmed 10 years after the remains were excavated.
The Ministry of National Defense’s Remains Excavation and Investigation Team (hereinafter referred to as the state-owned group) announced on the 8th that it has identified the remains of the Korean War dead that were excavated in Bugwi-ri, Chuncheon-si, Gangwon-do in October 2012 as the late Private Jeong Jun-eon.
The deceased was born on July 18, 1930 in Jangmok-myeon, Geoje, Gyeongnam, the second of three sons and three daughters.
He was the head of the household, raising his single mother and younger siblings by farming in place of his father, who had passed away early.
It is said that the deceased, who enlisted on September 20, 1950, during the Nakdong River defense battle, was trained only in how to shoot on Gadeok Island and was assigned to the front line as a member of the 9th Division.
The remains of the deceased were first identified at a depth of 0.2 m underground during excavation in 2012, and after that, the remains of several people were excavated at the same time in the form of a ‘batch remains’.
After a detailed analysis, the remains of the deceased were confirmed to be the left upper arm bone and the right shin bone.
It is not known when the deceased died, the state-owned group said.
The deceased’s younger brother had participated in the collection of genetic samples for the bereaved family in June 2011, but at the time of excavation, it was difficult to confirm the family relationship of the remains due to the limitations of analysis technology.
10 years later, genetic analysis of the remains and bereaved family was conducted more precisely, and as a result, the identity of Private Jeong was able to be identified.
Private Jeong’s ‘return of the hero of the country’ (identity confirmation notification event) will be held on the 21st in his hometown of Geoje, Gyeongsangnam-do.
His younger brother said, “When I became the class president at school, he was the older brother that I boasted to the villagers day and night, but when I said that I found him after going to the military, I cried at the thought of my poor older brother and I am really grateful to the Ministry of National Defense for looking for him.” told
If there are relatives who participated in the Korean War, but could not confirm whether they were alive or dead, they were asked to contact the representative number of the state-owned group (☎ 1577-5625) or to participate in gene sampling at public health centers, veterans hospitals, and military hospitals.
If they wish to collect samples, but are unable to visit due to difficulties in their mobility or livelihood, he explained that the state-owned group may visit them in person.
Up to 700,000 won in compensation for reporting the remains of ROK soldiers killed in the Korean War, police, student soldiers, and UN forces, and up to 10 million won when the identity of the remains is confirmed.
Since the excavation project began in April 2000, a total of 196 remains have been identified so far.
/yunhap news