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| ▲ Veterans Minister Park Min-shik speaks at the start of a peace forum hosted by Yonhap News Agency and the unification ministry in Seoul on June 29, 2023. (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ This composite of file photos shows former lawmaker Sohn Hye-won (L) and former Heritage of Korean Independence chief Kim Won-wung. (Yonhap) |
patriots decoration-review
Veterans ministry to review decorations for independence fighters
SEOUL, July 2 (Yonhap) -- The veterans ministry said Sunday it will review the records of decorated independence fighters and filter out those with dubious accomplishments, picking up a process that had been halted during the previous administration due to questions of fairness.
In a press release, the ministry said, "We will address the social conflict caused by honoring people as patriots despite their pro-North Korean leanings, and will establish clear standards in this regard."
The list of patriots to come under review is believed to include Sohn Yong-woo, the late father of former lawmaker Sohn Hye-won.
Sohn Yong-woo was decorated for his contribution to Korea's independence in 2018 under modified criteria, after being rejected for the honor on six previous occasions because of his time spent with the Communist Party of Korea following the country's liberation.
"With each new administration, the criteria for socialist activities either changed or became blurred," a government official said. "We have to identify whether people's activities contributed to the founding of modern Korea or helped establish a communist nation."
The ministry said it will also look to identify those who shouldn't have qualified for decorations because of potentially falsified records.
The ministry is said to be looking into Kim Geun-soo and Jeon Wol-soon, the respective late father and mother of Kim Won-wung, former head of the Heritage of Korean Independence, the state-funded association of independence fighters.
Kim Geun-soo received a presidential citation in 1963, the National Foundation Medal in 1977 and the Order of Merit for National Foundation in 1990. His wife was also conferred the Order of Merit for National Foundation that same year.
However, media reports have claimed both might have forged their records of contributions to Korea's independence, citing inconsistencies in their personal information.
In January 2021, the veterans ministry offered to open a probe into the two people's status before doing an about-face and concluding that there was no issue with their decorations.
This time, the ministry said it will allow the public to participate in its review.
"We will accelerate the process of stripping people of decorations if they're found to have doctored their records, and end all controversies once and for all," the ministry said.
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