The Hankyoreh:
”Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS) Activates Launch-Prep Organization for TRC 3...Forms Advisory Committee For Establishment”.

Posted to Paperslip on January 9th, 2026.
First published in Korea by The Hankyoreh on January 9th, 2026.
Please see original Korean article for photos.
Translation via ChatGPT.

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Paperslip Note:
It appears that TRC 3 may be delayed.

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The Hankyoreh:
”Society | General Society

[Exclusive] Ministry of the Interior and Safety activates launch-preparation organization for 3rd Truth and Reconciliation Commission… forms advisory committee for establishment

Preparation organization formed first due to tight launch schedule… 2nd term had a 7-month preparation period

By Ko Gyeong-tae
Updated 2026-01-09 17:50 | Published 2026-01-09 17:31

On the 9th, office equipment formerly used on the 6th floor is seen packed and stacked in one corner of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s liquidation team office on the 5th floor of the Namsan Square Building in Jung-gu, Seoul.
Reporter Ko Gyeong-tae

As passage of the amendment to the Framework Act on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (the Past Affairs Act), which would provide the legal basis for the 3rd Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), has been delayed in the National Assembly plenary session, it has been confirmed that the government has preemptively activated a preparation organization for the launch of the 3rd commission in anticipation of the law’s passage. Individuals who will make key decisions once the law is passed, including Secretary-General Song Sang-gyo, have also been appointed in the form of advisory committee members.

According to officials from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS) on the 9th, the ministry’s Social Integration Support Division formed an establishment preparation organization for the 3rd TRC consisting of four officials, including Grade 4 senior civil servants and Grade 5 administrative officers, on the assumption that the amendment to the Past Affairs Act would pass. Since the 5th, they have set up an office and begun work on the 5th floor of the Namsan Square Building in Jung-gu, Seoul, where the 2nd TRC’s liquidation team is based.

A MOIS official participating in the 3rd-term preparation organization told The Hankyoreh on the afternoon of the 9th, “Normally, once the law is passed, there is about a six-month implementation period during which a preparation organization is formed to gradually review and 추진 matters such as the budget and organizational structure needed for the launch. This time, however, there is so little time that the preparation organization was launched in advance.” While the 2nd TRC, which launched on December 10, 2020, had nearly seven months of preparation after the relevant amendment passed the National Assembly plenary session on May 20, the 3rd TRC—scheduled to launch on the 26th of next month—has only about a month and a half remaining.

Earlier, the amendment to the Past Affairs Act, which passed the Legislation and Judiciary Committee on December 3 last year, was not placed on the agenda of the National Assembly plenary session held on the 30th. As a result, concerns had been raised that the 3rd TRC might not be able to launch on the scheduled date. In this situation, the organization was formed to at least prepare the minimum administrative procedures before it is too late.

In addition, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, after consultations with the Blue House, formed an advisory committee for the establishment of the 3rd TRC consisting of five members, including Song Sang-gyo, secretary-general of the 2nd TRC. Through consultations with the ministry’s preparation organization, the advisory committee will make decisions necessary for preparing the launch of the 3rd TRC. In addition to Secretary-General Song, the advisory committee includes Park Eun-seong, head of the TRC Investigation Division 3; Kim Deok-jin, standing activist at the Catholic Human Rights Committee; Lee Hyung-sook, co-executive chair of the National Coalition of Victims of State Violence; and Lee Jeong-ha, standing activist at Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination and for Human Rights (Balbadak Action). A source from the 2nd TRC said, “It appears that individuals who will later join the establishment preparation team were appointed as advisory members in advance of the law’s passage.”

The amendment to the Past Affairs Act, which is awaiting passage by the National Assembly plenary session, centers on extending the TRC’s investigation period by one year to a maximum of five years and increasing the number of commissioners by four, from nine to thirteen. It is reported that there are no major disagreements between the ruling and opposition parties regarding this amendment. Rep. Lee Seong-gwon of the People Power Party, a member of the National Assembly’s Public Administration and Security Committee, told The Hankyoreh, “If the Democratic Party proposes putting the Past Affairs Act on the plenary session agenda as a priority, there is no reason for our party to oppose it.” The floor leaders of the ruling and opposition parties agreed at a meeting hosted by the National Assembly Speaker on the 7th to hold a plenary session on the 15th, drawing attention to whether the Past Affairs Act amendment will be introduced and passed on that day.”

Reporter Ko Gyeong-tae
k21@hani.co.kr