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Prime Minister Lee Wan-koo vowed Friday that the government will strive to console those hurt by the bloody uprising on the southern island of Jeju more than a half-century ago, a tragedy that had long gone unacknowledged.
At least 14,032 Jeju islanders were killed by brutal government suppression of the April 3 rebellion waged in 1948 against the elections that were held only in the southern part of Korea.
The Korean Peninsula was divided into the U.S. military-controlled South and the Soviet Union-backed communist North after its liberation from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule.
"Now, we should leave behind injuries from the past and run toward a new era of hope," Lee said in a ceremony in Jeju Island.
"In the future (the government) will continue to make utmost efforts to commemorate the victims and to console their bereaved families."
The uprising lasted until 1954, one year after the Korean War ended with an uneasy truce.
It took more than a half-century for South Korea to officially investigate the uprising and recognize victims from government suppression.
In 2003, then-President Roh Moo-hyun became the first head of state to apologize to the victims for "the wrongdoing of the past authoritarian government" and promised to restore their honor.
The incident is remembered as one of the most tragic chapters of South Korea's turbulent modern history.
In recent years, Jeju Island has become one of the most popular holiday destinations for South Koreans and foreign tourists, mostly Chinese, for its exotic atmosphere. (Yonhap)
