National Defense Corps incident

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. (Incident refers to both the deaths from starvation during the retreat and the corruption which led to the deaths.)

Background
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. The Syngman Rhee government then adopted officers from the pro-Rhee Great Korean Youth Association into the Corps.

March
406,000 drafted citizens were deployed in 49 training units. 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 (also spelled Kim Yoon-keun or Kim Yungun), son-in-law of Defense Minister Shin Song-mo. This led to the deaths of numerous soldiers from either malnutrition or frostbite.

Number of deaths and casualties
By June 1951, when an investigating committee made known its findings, it was reported that some 50,000 to 90,000 soldiers starved to death or died of disease on the march and in the training camps.

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.

According to a 2021 article in Foreign Policy by S. Nathan Park, 120,000 soldiers died from frostbite and malnutrition.

Aftermath
On 30 April 1951, the National Assembly of South Korea adopted a resolution on disbandment of the National Defense Corps. 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.

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. On 12 August 1951, five commanding officers were executed as persons in charge of the incident.