President Lee hosts luncheon for state violence victims: 'No expiration date on state responsibility'

President Lee Jae Myung hosted a luncheon at Cheong Wa Dae on Friday for victims of state violence, coinciding with the launch of the third Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Korea.

In his remarks, Lee said South Korea's modern history is one of remarkable growth and development, but also a history of pain in which the state inflicted deep wounds on its people through violence and human rights abuses.

"Countless citizens were brutally killed during the Korean War, and in the authoritarian era the state suppressed the freedoms and rights of its people — students and citizens who demanded democratization were persecuted," he said. Many others had their lives trampled by the abuse of state power, he added, citing forced conscription, ideological re-education campaigns and the dismissal of teachers affiliated with the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union.

Lee also noted that human rights violations carried out by state power — such as those at the Samcheong Education Camp and the Seosan Pioneer Corps — were compounded by countless cases of illegal detention, torture and cruel treatment by state agencies, including the Sabuk incident and cases involving fishermen abducted to North Korea who later returned.

"These wounds did not remain confined to that era — the suffering has been passed down through generations," he said. "As president, I feel a deep sense of responsibility for the fact that the state has not adequately responded to the desperate questions of the victims."

Lee said the long-overdue task of settling the historical record could no longer be deferred to the next generation. "The state will take responsibility and bring healing," he said, announcing that a third investigative bureau would be added to the commission to thoroughly examine human rights abuses at mass detention facilities — including the Hyungje Bokji Won and Deokseong Won — as well as cases of forced overseas adoption.

He went on to say the commission would also move beyond its previous reliance on victim-initiated applications, pledging that the state would take a more proactive approach by actively seeking out cases on its own.

"There is no expiration date on the state's responsibility," Lee said. "Through a revision of the law in February, we made the state's obligation to compensate victims explicit," he added, saying the government had established the principle that statutes of limitations would not apply to claims for damages arising from state violence.

"No words can wash away the pain you have endured," he said. "But as president, I will carry a heavy sense of responsibility and work to ensure that state violence never again occurs in our Republic of Korea — that not a single innocent victim is ever sacrificed again."

Lee bowed his head and said, "Again, I offer my deepest condolences and apologies to all victims of state violence that has occurred on this land since liberation."

More than 70 victims attended the luncheon — people who had suffered unjust state violence but had not received adequate measures to restore their honor.

Song Sang-gyo, chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, said the event marked a historic milestone. "For the first time, the president has gathered victims of state violence in one place on behalf of the nation to offer comfort and an apology — this will be a historic milestone in restoring the honor of the victims," Song said. "The third Truth and Reconciliation Commission will also do its utmost, with the urgency of knowing this is the last opportunity to fully settle the historical record."