President Lee Jae Myung makes a deep bow during a lunch meeting with victims of unresolved state violence at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, Friday. Yonhap
President Lee Jae Myung vowed Friday to redress damage caused by state violence, ranging from government crackdowns on democratization activists to forced adoptions to overseas.
The president made the pledge during his lunch meeting with about 70 victims of unresolved state violence, held on the occasion of the launch of the third Truth and Reconciliation Commission, a state body tasked with investigating human rights abuses or systemic injustices inflicted by the state.
The president cited the tragic deaths of many civilians during the 1950-53 Korean War and government crackdowns on citizens and students calling for democracy under previous authoritarian regimes as examples of state violence, calling them a dark chapter in Korea's breakneck growth and development.
"The old homework of redressing past (wrongdoings) cannot be passed on to future generations. The state will take responsibility and heal (the past)," Lee said during the meeting.
