[Yang Nak-gyu's Defense Club] General Baek Seon-yeop's Tomb, the 'Last Generation'

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Yang Nak-gyu] It appears that the late General Baek Seon-yeop will be the last generation to be interred in the generals' burial area at Daejeon National Cemetery. This is because the generals' burial area at Seoul National Cemetery was fully occupied by 1996, and the generals' burial area at Daejeon National Cemetery is expected to be completely filled within this year.

On the 13th, an official from the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs stated, "The remaining 23 plots in the generals' burial area at Daejeon National Cemetery are expected to be fully occupied within this year, and we are currently considering whether to consolidate them with the general soldiers' burial area."

General Baek's interment was decided according to the National Cemetery Act, and he will be interred in the generals' burial area at Daejeon National Cemetery on the 15th. However, some retired generals and opposition party members argue that General Baek should be interred at Seoul National Cemetery rather than Daejeon National Cemetery. They claim that considering General Baek's contributions during the Korean War, he should be honored by being interred in Seoul.

However, there are no more plots available in the generals' burial area at Seoul National Cemetery. Baek's eldest son, Baek Nam-hyeok (67), who is a family member, said, "Both my father and our family were already aware that he would be interred at Daejeon National Cemetery," adding, "My father was also satisfied with being interred at Daejeon National Cemetery during his lifetime."

The burial plots for minister-level officers (generals) and patriots interred at Daejeon National Cemetery measure 26.4㎡ (8 pyeong), with only 23 plots remaining. It is expected that the plots will be fully occupied by the end of this year. On the other hand, for officers below the rank of colonel, the plots measure 3.3㎡ (1 pyeong), and cremation followed by reburial of the ashes is the method adopted. Since its establishment in 1979, Daejeon National Cemetery has been divided into officers' and enlisted soldiers' burial areas. However, due to a shortage of plots, since 2017, the officers' and enlisted soldiers' burial areas have been operated as a consolidated burial area.

There have been ongoing calls to consolidate the generals' and enlisted soldiers' burial areas. Since 1983, during the Chun Doo-hwan administration, generals have been interred separately from enlisted soldiers and officers in a dedicated generals' burial area. It is known that South Korea is the only country to provide such special treatment to generals, which has led to controversy over preferential treatment.

In advanced countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States, the size of graves for generals and enlisted soldiers in national and municipal cemeteries is the same at 4.95㎡ (1.5 pyeong), and only one method of interment is used. In France, the burial plot size is determined by contract according to the wishes of the bereaved family, and these countries share the commonality of not having special burial areas. Additionally, these countries have introduced columbarium systems to overcome the limitations of burial capacity.

Chae Myeong-shin (retired lieutenant general), the first commander of the Korean forces in South Vietnam and known as a "Vietnam War hero," passed away in 2013 and was laid to rest in the enlisted soldiers' burial area. Before his death, he left a will expressing his wish to be buried in the enlisted soldiers' burial area where the deployed soldiers were interred. This became the first case of a general being interred in the enlisted soldiers' burial area.