Increase of 40,000 Won in War Participation Honor Allowance

Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs to Increase Next Year's Budget by 5.3%

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] The New Year's participation honor allowance will increase by 40,000 won, and various veterans' compensation payments will rise by 5.5%. A statue of General Baek Seon-yeop will be erected at the Dabudong Battle Memorial Hall in Chilgok-gun.

According to next year's budget passed by the National Assembly on the 24th, the Veterans Affairs budget (including funds) for next year was confirmed at 6.1886 trillion won, a 5.3% increase from this year. The budget by sector is allocated as follows: ▲ Veterans review and compensation 4.7958 trillion won ▲ Veterans promotion 196 billion won ▲ Veterans medical welfare 786.5 billion won ▲ Veterans honor and national cemeteries 99.7 billion won ▲ Support for discharged soldiers 61.3 billion won.

Compensation payments, 6.25 children’s allowances, defoliant allowances, nursing allowances, and others paid to national veterans will be increased by 5.5%, the largest increase since 2008. Additional increases will be applied to compensation payments for grade 7 disabled veterans and 6.25 war deceased soldiers’ children’s allowances, which currently have low payment amounts.

To strengthen the honor for elderly veterans, the participation honor allowance will be raised from the current 350,000 won per month to 390,000 won per month. The increase is larger than the government’s budget proposal, rising from 30,000 won to 40,000 won.

In the veterans promotion sector, the Yongsan Park Patriotic Veterans Symbol Facility Construction Project (3.1 billion won) and the General Baek Seon-yeop Statue Construction Project (150 million won in national funds) for the hero of the Dabudong Battle in Chilgok-gun, Gyeongbuk, were added during the National Assembly review process.

The budget for the 'Veterans Spirit Succession and Development Project,' including youth and teacher training education and the development of generation-specific customized veterans content incorporating advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and virtual reality, was significantly increased from 3.2 billion won this year to 17.3 billion won next year. The settlement fund for grandchildren of independence patriots returning to live in Korea will be raised from 50 million to 79 million won to 89 million to 153 million won next year. To achieve the goal of establishing 125,000 graves in national cemeteries by 2024, the basic design budget for the Gangwon region national cemetery and the feasibility study budget for the Jeonnam region national cemetery were reflected. Expansion of the Sancheong Patriotic Cemetery burial area will also be newly pursued.

Next year’s budget for support for discharged soldiers includes the 70th anniversary project of the 6.25 War armistice. The 'Heroes in Uniform Project' will provide new uniforms to all 43,794 6.25 war veterans, and various events will be held by inviting representatives from 22 countries that participated in the war on the occasion of 'UN Forces Participation Day.' A gratitude campaign for uniformed workers (MIU) such as soldiers, police officers, and firefighters will also be conducted.

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