Brothers killed in war, together after 60 years

By Lee Tae-hoon

The body of a South Korean soldier killed during the Korean War (1950-1953) will be laid to rest at a national cemetery alongside his brother, also killed in action, officials said Tuesday.

They say a forensic team at the Ministry of National Defense, which exhumed the remains of fallen soldiers in a mountain in Gangwon Province last October, has succeeded in identifying Sgt. Lee Chun-woo, who was 20 at the time of his death in 1951.

Military records show Lee voluntarily joined the Army in September 1950 despite his parents’ dissuasion, only a month after his older brother was recruited.

Lee was shot in the chest on Sept. 25, 1951 in a battle with North Korean troops just south of the 38th parallel, which now divides the Korean Peninsula.

His elder brother, Staff Sgt. Lee Man-woo, was also killed in a battle in May 1951 in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province.

Both participated in the retaking of Seoul and Pyongyang.

The elder brother was buried in 1960 at the National Cemetery in Seoul with his family unaware of it.

The defense ministry recently notified the family of the identification of the younger brother and the burial of the elder one.

"The remains of Sgt. Lee Cheon-woo will be laid alongside his elder brother at the National Cemetery to increase people's awareness about their honorable sacrifice," said Kim Il-saeng, deputy minister for personnel and welfare.

The ministry plans to hold the funeral of the younger Lee by the end of the month.

The Korean War broke out on June 25, 1950, devastating the Korean Peninsula for three years until 1953.

Under the U.N. flag, the United States and 20 other allied countries fought on the side of South Korea.

The three-year long conflict ended in a truce rather than a peace treaty, leaving the two Korean states technically still at war.

Some 140,000 South Korean troops were killed during the Korea War, and 82,000 were listed as missing in action.