Researcher Lee Jaesung Preserving 6·25 War Relics Awarded Presidential Citation for Civil Servants

Jeong So-young Researcher Who Restored Gyeongbokgung Wall Receives Prime Minister's Commendation

The Cultural Heritage Administration announced on the 2nd that Lee Jaesung, a curator at the National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage, received the Presidential Citation at the 10th Korea Civil Servant Awards.

Since 2020, Lee has preserved and processed over 1,300 relics of soldiers who died in the Korean War. During this process, he discovered various clues and restored the identity information of eight fallen soldiers, including the late Private Kim Hyuntaek.

The preserved and processed relics were exhibited at the special exhibition commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Korean War Armistice on October 2023, titled "Calling the Names Again." The Cultural Heritage Administration explained, "This was an opportunity to reappraise the war relics not merely as personal belongings or clues but as materials with academic, historical, and national heritage value."

Jung Soyoung, a curator at the National Palace Museum, received the Prime Minister's Citation. She was the lead on-site preservation officer responsible for restoring the Gyeongbokgung Palace wall damaged by spray graffiti vandalism in December 2023. Considering previous cases and the condition of the wall, she established a preservation plan and led the restoration work by forming a response team with internal and external preservation experts.

The Cultural Heritage Administration added, "During the restoration process, we communicated in detail with the public and media about the preservation methods and restoration status, and even after the work was completed, we appeared on broadcasts to raise awareness about the importance of cultural heritage preservation."

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