Five Sets of Remains From Japan's Chosei Coal Mine Identified as Two Men, but Identities Unconfirmed

▲ Pithead plaza of the Chosei Coal Mine in Ube, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan

Five sets of human remains excavated from the Chosei Coal Mine in Japan have been confirmed to belong to two men.

However, their identities could not be confirmed as their DNA did not match that of the surviving families.

The South Korean government announced today (October 23) that joint DNA testing by South Korea and Japan on five sets of remains excavated in August last year and February this year from the Chosei Coal Mine in Ube, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan, confirmed that they belong to two men.

Four pieces of remains excavated in August last year were determined to belong to the same man, while one piece excavated in February this year belonged to another man.

The government identified the bereaved families of 101 of the 136 Korean victims of the Chosei Coal Mine disaster and secured and analyzed DNA samples from the families of 98 of those victims.

However, according to the government, cross-referencing against the DNA profiles of surviving families held respectively by the South Korean and Japanese governments established no familial relations, leaving the identities of the remains unconfirmed.

A government official said, "We will continue our efforts to secure additional DNA samples from bereaved families to identify the victims and maintain close communication with the Japanese side."

The Chosei Coal Mine was an undersea coal mine in Ube where a flooding disaster in 1942 claimed the lives of 183 people, including 136 Koreans and 47 Japanese.

At the site, four human bone fragments were recovered in August last year and an additional piece of remains was found in February this year during underwater surveys led by a Japanese civic group, the "Association to Engrave the Chosei Coal Mine Flooding Disaster in History."

In connection with this, President Lee Jae-myung and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi agreed during a summit held in Nara Prefecture in January this year to jointly pursue DNA testing to identify the remains, and working-level consultations between the two countries have continued since.

(Photo: Yonhap News)

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