광주형무소 집단탈옥 사건 연구―‘미군정기~한국전쟁기’를 중심으로―

Abstract

This article deals with the mass breakouts from the Gwangju Prison that occurred during the period between the US Military Regime and the Korean War. During the period, there were a total of 18 mass breakouts from prisons across Korea, and the incidence of mass breakouts was unprecedented throughout modern Korean history; therefore, mass breakouts were seen as a unique “phenomenon” at the time. The majority of the main culprits behind these mass breakouts were “leftist criminals” and “wartime criminals”. They were imprisoned for violating the ‘Decree’ during the US Military Regime or the 'National Security Act' in the Government Establishment Period. Some were imprisoned as a “prisoner of war” during the Korean War. In the Gwangju Prison, a total of four mass breakouts occurred, recording the highest number of cases for a single prison. In particular, the mass breakouts from the Gwangju Prison spanned the three different periods (2 cases during the US Military Regime, 1 case in the Government Establishment Period, and 1 case in the Korean War), providing a significant clue to overall understanding of contexts and causes of such incidents at that time. This article summarizes the main culprits in the four mass breakouts (plans) and the internal and external factors driving them according to period of time. The four cases in the Gwangju Prison were led by “leftist criminals” and “wartime criminals” as in other prisons, and the triggering factors are considered to have been inhumane internal conditions and poor management systems that could not handle the soaring number of prisoners due to political chaos of the times.