JEJU ISLAND, South Korea, Feb. 3 (UPI) -- Seven sets of remains belonging to victims of an early Cold War massacre were returned to their families on South Korea's resort island of Jeju on Tuesday, more than seven decades after they disappeared amid the government's bloody crackdown on a communist revolt.
The remains of the seven Jeju Massacre victims arrived at Jeju International Airport from Gimpo at about 2 p.m. local time Tuesday, where they were received by Jeju Gov. Oh Young-hoon, heads of various Jeju Massacre foundations and representatives of the bereaved families.
"I pray for the repose of the seven victims who had to lie without names for so many years, and I offer my words of comfort to the families who endured time without knowing the fate of their loved ones," Oh said in his memorial address.
An estimated 30,000 islanders were killed between 1947 and 1954 during South Korea's bloody anti-communist eradication campaign that literally decimated the island's population of 300,000 and razed hundreds of villages.
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