Support Funds Provided to 14 Surviving Korean War POW Veterans
88 Gwangwang Gaebal Established for Veterans Fund to Begin Payments Starting Next Month
Relatives of South Korean prisoners of war from the Korean War held a rally on the 13th in front of the War Memorial in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, urging recognition of the status of families of South Korean prisoners of war. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@
View original image[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] Starting next month, a ‘Returnee Veteran Support Fund’ will be provided to veterans who were South Korean POWs during the Korean War and returned on their own.
According to the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs on the 25th, among the 82,000 South Korean POWs and missing soldiers during the Korean War (estimated by the UN Command in 1953), only 8,343 South Korean POWs were repatriated by the UN Command after the armistice agreement. North Korea has consistently denied the very existence of South Korean POWs.
The number of those who returned on their own is 80, starting with the late Lieutenant Cho Chang-ho in 1994 until 2010, and only 14 of them are still alive. The Returnee Veteran Support Fund will be provided to these 14 individuals, and 88 Tourism Development, established by the government to increase the veterans fund, will disburse the payments. In cooperation with the Jaseng Medical Foundation, traditional Korean medicine support services worth approximately 3 million KRW annually will also be provided.
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An amendment to the ‘Act on the Establishment and Operation of National Cemeteries’ is being pursued so that returning South Korean POWs can be buried in national cemeteries with the status of ‘returnee veterans.’ Currently, they are buried under qualifications such as ‘long-term service discharged veterans,’ but if the amendment is enacted, the level of burial support is expected to be elevated. The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs is also promoting the construction of a memorial facility for South Korean POWs who have not returned.
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