The Hankyoreh Article:
“Third Truth and Reconciliation Commission to Launch on February 26… Victims Say They Are ‘Deeply Moved.’”

Posted to Paperslip on January 29th, 2026 at 2:15 am PST / 5:15 am EST.
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“Hankyoreh Subscription

Third Truth and Reconciliation Commission to Launch on February 26, (2026)… Victims Say They Are “Deeply Moved” as Past History Act Amendment Passes

By Ko Gyeong-tae
Published: Jan. 29, 2026, 6:36 PM
Updated: Jan. 29, 2026, 6:52 PM

Members of past-history advocacy groups—including the Coalition of Survivors of State Violence in Collective Detention Facilities and the National Solidarity of Victims of State Violence—hold a press conference in front of the main gate of the National Assembly on the 29th, immediately after the passage of the amendment to the Framework Act on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (Past History Act), expressing their welcome.
Reporter: Ko Gyeong-tae

The amendment to the Framework Act on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (Past History Act), which legally supports the launch of the third Truth and Reconciliation Commission for the Settlement of Past Affairs (TRC), has passed the National Assembly plenary session. The third TRC will officially launch on February 26, the enforcement date stipulated in the supplementary provisions of the amended act. Organizations representing victims of state violence unanimously expressed their welcome.

On the afternoon of the 29th, during the 2nd plenary session of the 431st extraordinary session of the National Assembly, lawmakers introduced and passed the full amendment bill to the Framework Act on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which includes provisions related to the third TRC. Of the 194 lawmakers present, 168 voted in favor, 8 opposed, and 18 abstained. There had been growing concern that delays in submitting the amendment to the plenary session would postpone the launch of the third TRC.

Under the amended act, the number of commissioners for the third TRC increases from 9 to 13, expanding the body into a three-commission structure. Cases involving collective detention facilities are newly added to the scope of truth-finding. Torture and detention are also included among the Korean War–era civilian massacre cases subject to investigation. The temporal scope of investigations is extended by eight years—from “up to the period of authoritarian rule” (February 1993) to “the period before the establishment of the National Human Rights Commission” (November 2001).

The amendment also introduces provisions excluding objective statutes of limitation for claims for damages related to victimization, establishes rules for requesting warrants for search and seizure, and elevates responsibility for overseeing state apologies and follow-up measures to the Prime Minister.

Past-history–related organizations, including the Coalition of Survivors of State Violence in Collective Detention Facilities and the National Solidarity of Victims of State Violence, held a “Press Conference Welcoming the Amendment of the Past History Act” at 4:00 PM on the 29th in front of the main gate of the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, expressing their welcome and expectations.

Son Seok-ju, head of the Association of Survivors of the Yeonghwa Dormitory Reformatory, said, “The long-held wish of countless victims of collective detention facilities has finally been fulfilled, and I am deeply moved. I believe the third Truth and Reconciliation Commission is the golden time for victims of state violence. I hope that this time, investigations and truth-finding will proceed smoothly without any gaps.”

While the second TRC, which was launched on December 10, 2020, had nearly seven months of preparation time after the Past History Act amendment passed the National Assembly plenary session on May 20, the third TRC has less than one month remaining before its official launch date.

Accordingly, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety has, since the 5th of this month, operated a preparatory organization for the establishment of the third TRC—composed of four officials, including a Grade-4 senior civil servant—on the assumption that the amendment would pass. An advisory team made up of Song Sang-gyo, Secretary-General of the second TRC, and representatives of human rights organizations is also supporting the ministry’s preparatory group. One member of the advisory team told Hankyoreh, “Starting next week, advisory members will report daily to the office of the second TRC’s liquidation team and proceed in earnest with preparations for the third commission’s launch.”’

Ko Gyeong-tae
k21@hani.co.kr