Assemblyman Lee Byung-hoon Proposes Amendment to the Decorations Act to Establish Independent Medal of Honor

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Representative Lee Byung-hoon (Democratic Party of Korea·Gwangju Dong-gu Nam-gu Eul) announced on the 10th that he has taken the lead in proposing an amendment to the Awards Act to establish a new ‘Independence Medal’ awarded to individuals with clear contributions to Korea’s autonomous independence.

Currently, those who have made significant contributions to the founding of the Republic of Korea or to laying the foundation of the nation are awarded the Order of Merit for National Foundation or a Medal of Merit according to their contributions and sacrifices for independence. The Order of Merit for National Foundation is divided into five grades: Republic of Korea Medal, Presidential Medal, Independence Medal, Patriotic Medal, and National Foundation Medal.

So far, a total of 15,931 independence patriots have been honored. Independence patriots who have received the Order of Merit for National Foundation include Kim Gu, Ahn Chang-ho, Kim Jwa-jin, Ahn Jung-geun, Yoon Bong-gil, Lee Jun, Yu Gwan-sun, Jo So-hang, Jo Man-sik, and Han Yong-hoon.

However, there have been criticisms that the Order of Merit for National Foundation lacks a clear character, as it is also awarded to former presidents and foreign heads of state, not only independence activists. It is argued that to properly honor the achievements of the independence movement, it is necessary to distinguish the awards from the Order of Merit for National Foundation.

In fact, the United States has awarded Congressional Gold Medals, the Medal of Honor, and military merit badges to veterans of the War of Independence, and France is known to have awarded the Croix de Guerre and the Order of the Liberation to World War II veterans who were liberated from the Nazis, recognizing their contributions to independence.

Representative Lee Byung-hoon stated, “Since the preamble of the Constitution says, ‘The Republic of Korea succeeds to the legal tradition of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea established by the March 1st Movement,’ there is a need to establish an Independence Medal to provide proper recognition for the independence movement.”

Meanwhile, 14 civic groups and over 1,000 citizens in the Gwangju area have conducted a signature campaign to establish the Independence Medal and have delivered the petition to Representative Lee.

The Gwangju civic groups participating in the signature campaign include the May 18 Memorial Foundation, Gwangju-Jeonnam Democratic Movement Comrades Association, Progressive Solidarity Gwangju Branch, June 15 Joint Declaration Gwangju Branch, Gwangju Student Independence Movement Bereaved Families Association, Gwangju Student Independence Movement Memorial Project Association, Gwangju Seo Middle and High School Alumni Association, Gwangju Seo Middle and High School 100th Anniversary Project Association, Jang Jae-seong Memorial Project Association, Hapsu Yoon Han-bong Memorial Project Association, Seok Eun Kim Yong-geun Memorial Project Association, and the Humanities Research Institute Donggosong.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.