Jeon Nam-do Councilor Choi Seon-guk: "We Will Establish a Support Foundation for Independence Activists"

Nationwide First 'Ordinance for Discovering and Supporting Unrecognized Independence Activists' Proposed

The Jeonnam Provincial Council is pushing for an ordinance to discover and support unrecognized independence activists for the first time nationwide.

According to the Jeonnam Provincial Council on the 19th, Choi Seon-guk, Chair of the Health, Welfare and Environment Committee (Democratic Party of Korea·Mokpo 1), who is the main proposer, recently passed the ‘Jeonnam Province Ordinance on the Discovery and Support of Unrecognized Independence Activists’ through the Health, Welfare and Environment Committee review.

This ordinance focuses on establishing a foundation for discovering and supporting independence activists who contributed to the country’s independence from Japanese colonial rule but were not officially recognized, honoring their sacrifice and dedication.

Choi Seon-guk, Jeonnam Provincial Assembly Member

Chairman Choi Seon-guk stated, “Jeonnam is a sacred place for various independence movements, including the Righteous Army movement, but many have not been recognized due to reasons such as having no descendants or lack of objective evidence,” and added, “With the enactment of this ordinance, I expect Jeonnam Province to continuously work on discovering unrecognized independence patriots to restore their achievements and honor.”

Since July 2019, Chairman Choi Seon-guk has pointed out Jeonnam’s low recognition rate through provincial government questions and budget reviews, urging thorough integrated research for discovering and applying for recognition of unrecognized independence activists, making efforts to support their discovery and recognition.

As a result, Jeonnam Province has discovered unrecognized independence activists in two phases since 2021. The first phase focused on the March 1st Movement, discovering 128 individuals and applying for recognition for 80 in 2022. The second phase covered from around 1895, before and after Japan’s infringement on national sovereignty, to 1945, discovering 2,456 individuals and applying for recognition for 1,023 of them.

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