Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs, re-examining undervalued personnel
The government is promoting a plan to deprive ‘fake men of merit’ by reverifying the achievements of independence activists who are controversial about document manipulation or pro-North Korea. Along with this, it was decided to re-evaluate the achievements of personnel and groups that had been undervalued so far in line with the public eye level. The public review will be reorganized from the existing two-trial system to a three-trial system to strengthen fairness and professionalism.
The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs announced on the 2nd that it would “clarify the criteria for the part that caused social conflict by being rewarded as a person of merit for independence despite the pro-North Korea controversy, etc스포츠토토” An official from the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs said, “The
The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs did not specifically announce who would be reviewed. However, it is known that the subject of reexamination will include Juksan Jo Bong-am (1898-1959), the first Minister of Agriculture and Forestry of Korea and an independence activist, and Dongnong Kim Ga-jin (1846-1922), a civil servant and an adviser to the provisional government at the end of the Joseon Dynasty. Jo Bong-am’s bereaved family had requested three times in the past for the government to recognize the deceased as a person of national merit. However, it was not accepted because there were traces of pro-Japanese. In January 1940, an advertisement titled ‘Seonggwansa Jo Bong-am, Bang Won-yeong, direct importer of domestic and foreign rice grains in Bonjeong, Incheon’ was published in the Maeil Shinbo, and in the same newspaper in December of the following year, ‘Jo Bong-am, who lived in Seogyeongjeong, Incheon, paid 150 won for military service.’ The content of the article was the basis for pro-Japanese. Jo Bong-am participated in the March 1st Movement and engaged in socialist independence movements, but served as Minister of Agriculture and Forestry and Vice Speaker of the National Assembly in the first government. After liberation, he criticized North Korea’s communist line. Then, in 1959, he was sentenced to death for espionage, but was acquitted at a retrial in 2011. However, a document from the former Soviet Union was recently discovered that states that North Korean leader Kim Il-sung supported candidate Cho Bong-am in the 1956 presidential election. However, opinions differ among experts on the authenticity and interpretation of the contents of the document.
Kim Ga-jin participated in the establishment of the Independence Association and defected to Shanghai, China, and was a person who participated in the independence movement in the Provisional Government. He was recognized for his contribution to the independence movement to such an extent that his funeral in 1922 was held in Shanghai as the head of the Provisional Government. However, even after 100 years, the remains have not been repatriated. It is because he did not receive a distinguished service due to the record that he was awarded the title of baron by Japanese imperialism in 1910. The Ministry of Veterans Affairs and Veterans Affairs said, “We plan to comprehensively and balancedly reevaluate the merits and demerits of meritorious persons through policy research and discussions.”
The government is also planning to look into the meritorious people who have been raised by the ‘false controversy’. This is because before the 1970s, there were many cases in which ‘unqualified persons’ were awarded honorary medals by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Government Administration instead of the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs due to duplicate awards or poor screening. Kim Geun-soo (1912-1992) and Jeon Wol-seon (1923-2009), parents of former liberation chairman Kim Won-woong, are expected to be subject to reexamination. For his achievements in the anti-Japanese movement, Kim Geun-soo received the Presidential Commendation in 1963, the National Foundation Medal in 1977, and the Patriotic Medal in 1990. Jeon Wol-seon also received the Order of the Order of the National Foundation in 1990 for his contributions to the Liberation Army with his husband. However, some of the Liberation Association have consistently raised suspicions that ‘independence activist Kim Geun-soo’ and Chairman Kim’s father, Kim Geun-soo, are different people. Kim Geun-soo died in 1992, but ‘independence activist Kim Geun-soo’ was marked as ‘small’ in the documents at the time of the Presidential Citation in 1963.Jeon Wol-seon, the mother of former chairman Kim, applied for an independence movement under the name of Jeon Wol-soon and received a reward. Afterwards, it was confirmed that Jeon’s older sister, Jeon Wol-soon (1921-1953), actually existed, causing controversy over ‘public interception’. In January 2021, the Moon Jae-in administration briefed the reporters that it would investigate these issues, but belatedly said, “It was a mistake. There is no problem with the qualifications for the honorable mention,” and the controversy over false public achievements grew. If the achievement is found to be false as a result of the verification, the honor is revoked through the deliberation and resolution of the Public Review Committee and the State Council in accordance with the relevant laws.It is known that Son Yong-woo (1923-1999), the father of former Democratic Party lawmaker Son Hye-won, will also be subject to re-examination. Even after liberation, Son Yong-woo was eliminated from the veterans screening of successive governments such as the Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun governments a total of six times due to his career in the Joseon Communist Party. Then, in the 7th application in 2018, at the beginning of the Moon Jae-in administration, he was selected as an independent man of merit. It was because the previous year’s changed criteria for reviewing veterans were applied to the effect that ‘one person who performed leftist activities until August 15, 1948 after liberation can receive a distinguished service’.In addition, Ju Se-juk, the first wife of former Vice President Pak Heon-yong of North Korea, Kim Il-sung’s uncle Kim Hyung-kwon (Lee name Kim Hyung-gun), and Kim Il-sung’s uncle Kang Jin-seok, who were recognized as meritorious independence in 2007, 2010, and 2012, respectively, are also expected to be reviewed. A government official said, “Every time the regime changes, the criteria for judging the socialist movement change or the rules become ambiguous.” We need to be clear,” he said.The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs plans to set new criteria for screening foreigners who contributed to the independence movement as missionaries, doctors, and teachers, and those who died in prison after being imprisoned for refusing to worship at a shrine. It was decided to actively pursue a plan to reward those who contributed to the independence movement’s financial support activities as persons of merit for independence.The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs plans to set up a “special subcommittee” within this year to judge controversial issues in order to speed up the review and strengthen fairness and professionalism. Currently, the first public review committee and the second public review committee, which are preliminary reviews, are reviewed in a two-trial system. In addition, a special subcommittee that handles only matters requiring in-depth discussion will be added to reduce the heavy workload in the preliminary review stage while virtually going to a three-trial system. The special subcommittee to be established and the rules for the operation of ex officio members of the 2nd public review committee, which is the real heart, will be revised so that not only history majors but also political, social, and legal experts can participate.
order reform plan was prepared after a long period of deliberation and will be implemented immediately.”