Veterans Affairs Ministry to track down remains of independence fighter Ahn Jung-geun

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Published: 17 Mar. 2026, 13:45

Independence fighter Ahn Jung-geun (1879-1910) [YONHAP]

The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs will launch a public-private team this week, tasked with tracking down and repatriating the remains of independence fighter Ahn Jung-geun (1879-1910), believed to be buried in China, the ministry said on Tuesday.

The 23-member team, comprising officials from the Veterans Ministry, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Unification, as well as historians and family members of the late independence fighter, will set sail on Wednesday, the ministry said.

Ahn was executed in 1910 for the assassination of Japanese Prime Minister Hirobumi Ito in Harbin, the capital of China's Heilongjiang province, in 1909. His remains are believed to be buried near Lushun Prison in the northern Chinese port city of Dalian.

In his will, he requested that his remains be returned to Korea after national independence, but the exact location of his burial remains unknown.

Last month, President Lee Jae Myung wrote on X that the government is doing its best to excavate and repatriate his remains.

Yonhap