Legal counseling for 4·3 bereaved families extended by two years ... Compensation applications accepted through 2029

【Financial News Jeju = Jeong Yong-bok】 Legal counseling for Jeju 4·3 victims and their bereaved families will be extended by two years, through September 2028. Counseling support will continue in light of the extended deadlines for correcting family relations registers and applying for compensation, so that elderly bereaved family members do not give up seeking remedies because of complex legal procedures.
According to Jeju Special Self-Governing Province on the 20th, the operating period of the “4·3 Special Act Specialized Counseling Office” will be extended through September 2028, with legal counseling for bereaved families continuing in Jeju City and Seogwipo City.
This measure is follow-up support under the Enforcement Decree of the Special Act on Finding the Truth about the Jeju 4·3 Incident and the Restoration of Honor of Victims, which was revised on August 25 and took effect on September 1.
Under the amended enforcement decree, the deadline to apply for decisions on creating or correcting family relations registers and recognizing de facto marriages and adoptive parent-child relationships has been extended by two years, from August 31, 2026, to August 31, 2028.
The deadline to apply for a decision on compensation payments to victims has also been extended by three years, from December 31, 2026, to December 31, 2029. Additional reports of victims and bereaved families, which closed in June 2023, will also be accepted for six months, from February 1 through July 31, 2027.
The counseling office’s operating period and the statutory application deadlines are different. Applications for family relations corrections and related matters must follow the prescribed procedures by the end of August 2028, while compensation applications must do so by the end of 2029.
The main focus of the legal counseling is resolving discrepancies between actual family relationships and official records caused by deaths and disappearances during the 4·3 Incident, as well as omissions in marriage and birth registrations.
Bereaved family members may need to file separate applications and go through a review process to correct family relationships if a victim’s parental or child relationship is inaccurately recorded in the family relations register, or if a marriage or adoption relationship has not been legally recognized. Correcting family relations is also connected to establishing bereaved family members’ legal status and seeking remedies, including applying for compensation.
The specialized counseling office provides guidance on legal procedures under the 4·3 Special Act, including creating and correcting family relations registers, filing petitions for declarations of disappearance, applying for compensation, and special provisions for de facto marriages and adoptive parent-child relationships. Consultations on related general legal matters are also available.
Consultations are held every Wednesday, excluding public holidays, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the 4·3 Support Teams of the autonomous administration divisions in Jeju City and Seogwipo City. Four judicial scriveners appointed as specialized counselors provide guidance on the application procedures and documents required for individual cases.
With additional reporting of victims and bereaved families resuming in 2027, newly reporting bereaved family members may also need counseling on verifying family relationships and compensation procedures. However, additional reporting, corrections to family relations, and compensation payments each have separate requirements and review procedures.
Byeon Yeong-geun, head of Jeju Province’s Special Self-Governing Administration Bureau, said, “We will provide attentive support so that elderly bereaved family members do not give up seeking remedies because of complex legal procedures.”


[email protected] Jeong Yong-bok Reporter