National Defense Corps incident
| Part of the Korean War | |
 National Defense Corps soldiers in January 1951 | |
| Date | December 1950 – February 1951 |
|---|---|
| Cause | Inadequate supplies due to embezzlement of funds |
| Deaths | 50,000–120,000 |
| Convicted | Kim Yun-geun and four other officers |
| Sentence | Death by firing squad |
| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 국민방위군 사건 |
| Hanja | 國民防衛軍事件 |
| Revised Romanization | Gungminbangwigun Sageon |
| McCune–Reischauer | Kungminbangwigun Sagŏn |
The National Defense Corps Incident was a death march that occurred in South Korea during the Korean War between December 1950 and February 1951.[1] An estimated 50,000 to 120,000 conscripts died from starvation and frostbite as a result of corruption in the government of President Syngman Rhee.
Hundreds of thousands of South Korean men were mobilized into the newly-created National Defense Corps to defend South Korea against a North Korean-Chinese invasion after the UN retreat from North Korea. Funds and supplies were embezzled by corrupt high-ranking officials appointed by Rhee. Conscripts were forced to report to assembly points on foot, sometimes over hundreds of miles away, without appropriate food, clothing or shelter in the winter weather.
Investigation by the National Assembly of South Korea exposed widespread corruption in the South Korean government and military, leading to a political crisis for Rhee and the execution of five key officials of the National Defense Corps. The incident refers to both the deaths from starvation during the retreat and the corruption that led to the deaths.[1]
Background
The Korean War began on 25 June 1950 when North Korea launched Operation Pokpung, the invasion of South Korea which resulted in its near-conquest. The United Nations (UN) condemned the invasion in late July and the United Nations Command, a multi-national force of anti-communist countries led by United States, was deployed to assist South Korea. By this point, the North Koreans controlled most of South Korea except for a small area around the city of Pusan, and their victory seemed imminent. North Korean defeats at the Battle of the Pusan Perimeter and the Battle of Inchon in September triggered a reversal of the war, as the North Koreans rapidly withdrew from South Korea and the UN offensive into North Korea led to the near-conquest of the country within a month. The People's Republic of China, threatened by UN forces approaching the Yalu River and the possible defeat of their ally, intervened in the war to support North Korea. The Chinese launched the successful Second Phase Offensive in late November, leading to the rapid retreat of UN forces from North Korea and the second invasion of South Korea.
On 11 December 1950, the South Korean government of President Syngman Rhee issued an act establishing the National Defense Corps, a national guard-like force to defend against the incoming invasion. All South Korean men aged 17 to 40, excluding military, police, and government officials, were conscripted into the National Defense Corps, which was nominally under the Ministry of National Defense.[2][3] Rhee and his administration had a reputation for their corruption and cronyism, which led South Korea to be woefully unprepared for the war. Officers of the National Defense Corps were mainly drawn from the pro-Rhee Great Korean Youth Association.[4] Rhee offered leadership of the force to Kim Du-han, a former gangster that had led a Student Volunteer Forces unit during the Great Naktong Offensive, who declined because he had no formal military training. Defence Minister Shin Song-mo recommend his son-in-law Kim Yun-geun, a high-ranking member the Korean Youth League and champion wrestler with no military training or experience. Yun Ik-heon, a Korean independence activist who had graduated from Huangpu Military Academy in the Republic of China, was appointed as his deputy. Yun had formal military training and administrative experience in various right-wing youth organisations, but was of dubious character and suspected of embezzlement.
March
A cohort of 406,000 South Korean men were called up to serve in the National Defense Corps and assigned into 49 training units.[5] They were then ordered to march south. However, funds for food purchases were embezzled by the National Defense Corps Commander Kim Yun-geun (김윤근; 金潤根; also spelled Kim Yoon-keun or Kim Yungun), son-in-law of Defense Minister Shin Song-mo.[6] This led to the deaths of numerous soldiers from either malnutrition or frostbite.
Number of deaths and casualties
By June 1951, when an investigating committee made known its findings, it was reported that some 50,000[7] to 90,000 soldiers starved to death or died of disease on the march and in the training camps.[3][6]
Figures vary on the number of deaths and casualties. According to a 13 June 1951 article in the New York Times, approximately 300,000 men were lost to death or desertion over a three-week 300-mile march.[8]
According to a 2021 article in Foreign Policy by S. Nathan Park, 120,000 soldiers died from frostbite and malnutrition.[9]
Aftermath
On 30 April 1951, the National Assembly of South Korea adopted a resolution on disbandment of the National Defense Corps.[2] The National Assembly investigation showed that the commanding officers embezzled one billion won, and tens of millions of won was misappropriated to President Syngman Rhee's political fund.[7]
In May 1951, Vice-President Yi Si-yeong resigned. In June, it was reported that five billion won in funds for the National Defense Corps had been embezzled.[10] On 12 August 1951, five commanding officers were executed as persons in charge of the incident.[2][11]
See also
References
- ^ a b "국민방위군 National Defence Incident". Encyclopedia of Korean Culture (in Korean). Retrieved 13 September 2023.
- ^ a b c "Jinsilhwahaewi 'gugminbang-wigun' jiggwonjosa" 진실화해위 `국민방위군' 직권조사 [Truth and Reconciliation 'National Defense Force' ex officio investigation]. Yonhap News (in Korean). Newsis. 9 March 2007. Retrieved 14 July 2010.
- ^ a b Terence Roehrig (2001). Prosecution of Former Military Leaders in Newly Democratic Nations: The Cases of Argentina, Greece, and South Korea. McFarland & Company. p. 139. ISBN 978-0-7864-1091-0.
- ^ Tucker, Spencer C.; Pierpaoli Jr., Paul G. (2010). The Encyclopedia of the Korean War: A Political, Social, and Military History, 2nd Edition [3 volumes]: A Political, Social, and Military History. ABC-CLIO. p. 475. ISBN 9781851098507.
- ^ ""Gugminbang-wigun sumanmyeong hangugjeonttae heomanghan jug-eum" ganbudeul-i gunsupum chagbog…gulm-eojuggeona jeon-yeombyeong hoengsa jinsilhwahaewi, maejangji deung hwag-in…gugga-e sagwa gwongo" "국민방위군 수만명 한국전때 허망한 죽음" 간부들이 군수품 착복…굶어죽거나 전염병 횡사 진실화해위, 매장지 등 확인…국가에 사과 권고 [“Tens of thousands of people in the National Guard died in vain during the Korean War.” Officials embezzle military supplies… Confirmation of the truth about starvation or violent death from an infectious disease, burial place, etc… apology to the state] (in Korean). Hankyoreh. 7 September 2010.
- ^ a b Sandler, Stanley. The Korean War: no victors, no vanquished. University Press of Kentucky. p. 224. ISBN 978-0-8131-0967-1 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b 국민방위군 사건 [National Defense Corps incident] (in Korean). National Archives of Korea. 1 December 2006. Archived from the original on 27 April 2011. Retrieved 20 July 2010.
- ^ "50,000 KOREANS DIE IN CAMPS IN SOUTH; Government Inquiry Confirms Abuse of Draftees--General Held for Malfeasance". The New York Times. US. 13 June 1951. p. 3. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
More than 50,000 South Korean draftees have died of starvation or disease since last December in training camps, the chairman of an investigating committee said today....[T]he investigation committee had substantiated ... the details of a 300-mile 'death march'.... During the three weeks of forced marching through snow in the bitter cold of winter, [the investigator] said, approximately 300,000 men deserted or died along the way.
- ^ Park, S. Nathan (5 September 2021). "Korea Was the United States' First Forever War". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
- ^ "SOUTH KOREAN AIDE QUITS; Defense Minister Says He Was Implicated in Scandals". The New York Times. US. 4 June 1951. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
- ^ "ROK General Executed for Army Thefts". Los Angeles Times. US. 14 August 1951. p. 6. Archived from the original on 3 November 2012. Retrieved 22 July 2010.