Death march that occurred in the winter of 1951 during the Korean War
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The execution of five commanding officers on 12 August 1951
The National Defense Corps Incident was a death march that occurred between December 1950 and February 1951, during the Korean War, as a result of corruption.[1] (Incident refers to both the deaths from starvation during the retreat and the corruption which led to the deaths.)[1]
On 11 December 1950, South Korea issued an act establishing the National Defense Corps. South Korean citizens aged 17 to 40, excluding military, police and government officials, were drafted into the National Defense Corps.[2][3] The Syngman Rhee government then adopted officers from the pro-Rhee Great Korean Youth Association [ko] into the Corps.[4]
406,000 drafted citizens were deployed in 49 training units.[5] The National Defense Corps soldiers were then ordered to march south. However, funds for food purchases were embezzled by the National Defense Corps Commander Kim Yun-geun (김윤근; 金潤根; also spelled Kim Yoon-keun or Kim Yungun), son-in-law of Defense MinisterShin Song-mo.[6] This led to the deaths of numerous soldiers from either malnutrition or frostbite.
By June 1951, when an investigating committee made known its findings, it was reported that some 50,000[7] to 90,000 soldiers starved to death or died of disease on the march and in the training camps.[3][6][8][verification needed]
Figures vary on the number of deaths and casualties. According to a 13 June 1951 article in the New York Times, approximately 300,000 men were lost to death or desertion over a three-week, 300-mile march.[9]
According to a 2021 article in Foreign Policy by S. Nathan Park, 120,000 soldiers died from frostbite and malnutrition.[10]
On 30 April 1951, the National Assembly of South Korea adopted a resolution on disbandment of the National Defense Corps.[2] The National Assembly investigation showed that the commanding officers embezzled one billion won, and tens of millions of won was misappropriated to President Syngman Rhee's political fund.[7]
In May 1951, vice-president Yi Si-yeong resigned. In June, it was reported that five billion won in funds for the National Defense Corps had been embezzled.[11] On 12 August 1951, five commanding officers were executed as persons in charge of the incident.[2][12]
^Tucker, Spencer C.; Pierpaoli Jr., Paul G. (2010). The Encyclopedia of the Korean War: A Political, Social, and Military History, 2nd Edition [3 volumes]: A Political, Social, and Military History. ABC-CLIO. p. 475. ISBN9781851098507.
^"50,000 KOREANS DIE IN CAMPS IN SOUTH; Government Inquiry Confirms Abuse of Draftees--General Held for Malfeasance". The New York Times. US. 13 June 1951. p. 3. Retrieved 22 July 2010. More than 50,000 South Korean draftees have died of starvation or disease since last December in training camps, the chairman of an investigating committee said today....[T]he investigation committee had substantiated ... the details of a 300-mile 'death march'.... During the three weeks of forced marching through snow in the bitter cold of winter, [the investigator] said, approximately 300,000 men deserted or died along the way.
