Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs Elevated to 'Bu' Level After 62 Years

Current Director Park Min-sik Likely to Hold Confirmation Hearing Before May

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs is being elevated to the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans. This is the first time in 62 years since its predecessor, the Military Welfare Agency, was launched in 1961.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs on the 15th, the ‘3+3 Policy Council’ composed of floor leaders, deputy floor leaders, and policy committee chairs from the People Power Party and the Democratic Party of Korea agreed yesterday on a government organization reform to elevate the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs to a ministry-level agency and establish the Overseas Koreans Agency under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

If the bill is passed as agreed by the ruling and opposition parties, the elevated Ministry of Patriots and Veterans is expected to launch in early May. If the amendment to the Government Organization Act passes the plenary session on the 24th, it will be promulgated after the Cabinet meeting’s approval early next month. Considering the time required to prepare for the elevation of the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans and the establishment of the Overseas Koreans Agency, the new Government Organization Act will be enforced two months after promulgation, as specified in the supplementary provisions.

Discussions on the allocation of standing committees in the National Assembly are also expected to intensify. Currently, the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs is under the jurisdiction of the Political Affairs Committee as it is affiliated with the Prime Minister’s Office, but if elevated to a ministry, there is a strong possibility that a new standing committee will be established or the jurisdiction will be transferred to another standing committee.

If the standing committee changes, options being considered include establishing a new committee solely responsible for the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans or a concurrent committee such as the Gender Equality and Family Committee, or transferring it to the current National Defense Committee and renaming it the ‘Patriots and Veterans Defense Committee.’ It is also reported that the Speaker’s Office has begun internal reviews of these options.

It is reported that current Minister Park Min-sik is likely to be nominated as the candidate. A Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs official said regarding the ministerial candidate, "The ministerial candidate will likely be nominated and the hearing schedule set immediately after the promulgation of the amended Government Organization Act and before its enforcement."

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