South Korean Prime Minister: "Make Military Service a Proud Career"

2465 Families Selected for This Year's Military Service Honor Promotion Project

This year, 2,465 families were selected for the Military Service Honorary Family Promotion Project. Military Service Honorary Families are those in which three generations have all faithfully completed active duty service, and the Military Manpower Administration has been selecting them since 2004. This year marks the 20th ceremony, the highest number ever. To date, more than 12,000 families and over 59,000 individuals have become members of the Military Service Honorary Families.

On the 20th, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo stated at the ‘Military Service Honorary Family Awards Ceremony’ held at the Sejong Convention Center, “The government will ensure that military service becomes a proud career,” adding, “In a situation where North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats are intensifying, I extend my wholehearted encouragement to the proud soldiers guarding the front lines of national defense.” He emphasized, “We will build a country where heroes in uniform are respected by the people.”

Prime Minister Han paid tribute by calling out each family that received the Presidential Citation and the Prime Minister’s Award. He said, “The family of the late Lee Hyuk-gu, who received the Presidential Citation, served a total of 409 months among fifteen members, making them the family with the most military service members this year among the Military Service Honorary Families,” and noted, “They greatly contributed to national security by serving in frontline units and conducting special forces operations.”

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo is attending the Ministerial Meeting on State Affairs held at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 6th, delivering opening remarks. Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

Prime Minister Han said, “The family of Lee Bong-seong, who received the Presidential Citation, also provides us with an excellent example as the second and third generations voluntarily enlisted despite being descendants of national merit recipients.”

He also mentioned that the stories of the families of the late Choi Il-geun, the late Kim Tae-su, the late Min Byung-yoon, and the late Hwang Hwa-yeon, who received the Prime Minister’s Award, resonate deeply with us. Prime Minister Han individually acknowledged the families of the late Lee Gwang-bok, the late Park Jae-hwa, and the late Noh Hong-ik, the first four-generation Military Service Honorary Families in Korea, stating, “The noble patriotism of these individuals who have protected the Republic of Korea with one heart and one mind across four generations is something we must all uphold.”

Prime Minister Han also pledged to continuously develop policy alternatives for military service members. He said, “We will establish legal systems so that the military careers of conscripts can continue in society, and will steadily expand career design services to help systematic career development after discharge.” He added, “I believe a true advanced nation is one where the noble sacrifices of those who have dedicated themselves to national security remain a great source of pride,” and emphasized, “The government will continue to do its best to remember and honor those who have devoted themselves to protecting our freedom and peace.”

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