War Hero Receiving Hwarang Military Merit Medal After 66 Years

On the morning of the 11th, a soldier is paying tribute with flowers in front of the remains of a presumed United Nations soldier excavated in the Hwasalmorigoj area, our side within the Civilian Control Line in Cheorwon-gun, Gangwon Province. / Photo by Joint Press Corps

[Asia Economy Reporter Yang Nak-gyu]The family of a soldier who died in the Battle of Hwasalmori Hill in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) of Gangwon Province will be awarded the Hwarang Military Merit Medal, which the deceased did not receive during his lifetime.

This is the first time that a military merit medal has been awarded to the family of a soldier whose remains were excavated and identified from Hwasalmori Hill, one of the fiercest battlefields of the Korean War.

According to the Army on the 27th, the Korean War Military Medal Recovery Investigation Team (Investigation Team) will award the Hwarang Military Merit Medal posthumously to Sergeant Jeong Young-jin’s son, Jeong Hae-su (72), this afternoon.

Sergeant Jeong, born in 1926 in Yangpyeong, Gyeonggi Province, enlisted in the Army in September 1952 and served in the 31st Regiment of the 2nd Division. He participated in the Sniper Ridge battle and the Battle of Hwasalmori Hill, and died in action at Hwasalmori Hill on July 14, 1953, about two weeks before the armistice agreement was signed on July 27, 1953.

The government decided to award Sergeant Jeong the Hwarang Military Merit Medal on October 15, 1954, but the medal was never actually presented due to his death in action. Unaware that the medal had been awarded, Sergeant Jeong’s family will now receive the medal 66 years later through the excavation of his remains.

The Ministry of National Defense’s Remains Excavation and Identification Team collected samples from the family of the soldier who died in the Battle of Hwasalmori Hill, and in December last year, collected genetic samples from Mr. Jeong to confirm his identity. Upon the request of the Ministry of National Defense Remains Excavation Team, the Investigation Team confirmed through award records that there was a medal that had not been awarded to Sergeant Jeong and notified the family. Mr. Jeong plans to inter his father’s remains at the National Cemetery after June.

Mr. Jeong expressed gratitude to the nation, though he was surprised by the news that his father’s remains had been identified and the long-overdue medal would be awarded. He said, "I hope that such things will also happen to many families who have not yet found their loved ones’ remains and to the families of those who have not yet received military merit medals."