Survivors Demand Official Apology from President Over Historical Abuses

On the morning of July 23, 2025, at 10 AM, the Survivors of Seongam Academy (선감학원) held a press conference in front of the Presidential Office in Yongsan, Seoul, urging for an official apology from the President and effective recovery measures for the victims. Approximately 70 survivors and family members from various regions, including Gyeongsang-do and Jeolla-do, gathered for the event.

Seongam Academy, established in 1942 on Seongam Island in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province during the Japanese occupation, was a facility where over 4,600 children and adolescents were subjected to forced labor, violence, and torture under the guise of 'rehabilitating delinquents' until 1982, during the military regime. Many of the residents died due to beatings and malnutrition.

The Survivors' Council has been advocating for a formal apology and substantial recovery policies from the government, despite being recognized for human rights violations by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 2022.

President Lee Jae-myung (이재명), during his tenure as the Governor of Gyeonggi Province in 2018, expressed his remorse, stating, "As the highest responsible official of the provincial government, I sincerely apologize to the victims of Seongam Academy."

Kim Jin-hee (김진희), former head of the Seongam Academy investigation team at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, questioned the government's silence on what she described as a clear case of state violence, urging, "It is time for the President to respond."

Kim Young-bae (김영배), the head of the Survivors' Council, emphasized, "What we seek is not grand compensation but the acknowledgment of state responsibility, an apology, and proper recovery measures."

Survivor Lee Joo-sung (이주성), aged 65, read a prepared letter titled 'Letter from a Boy,' stating, "President Lee Jae-myung has referred to himself as a former child laborer. We are the other boys who were abandoned on the island of Seongam during that time." He concluded with a plea, "Please extend your hand first, President Lee Jae-myung."