[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] Park Soo-young, a member of the People Power Party, criticized the failure to prioritize national veterans in the supply of COVID-19 vaccines on the 22nd. He demanded that the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs and the Military Manpower Administration prioritize national veterans who have been left in the blind spot of COVID-19 vaccination.
On the 22nd, Park said at the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee plenary session, "Since the government established the COVID-19 vaccination plan, national veterans have never been included as vaccination targets," adding, "President Moon Jae-in says nothing about vaccinating national veterans who sacrificed and devoted themselves to our country, but instead pushes to supply vaccines to North Korea. This is like prioritizing others over the family breadwinner."
According to Park’s confirmation with the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency and others, there was no consideration for national veterans during the vaccination process in the first and second quarters of this year, including the Janssen vaccines provided by the United States. According to his analysis, about 70,000 national veterans under the age of 60 (about 13% of all national veterans), who were excluded from the reserve forces and civil defense targets, were not included in the second quarter vaccination targets and thus fell into the blind spot of COVID-19 vaccination.
Park criticized, "According to Article 5 of the Framework Act on the Honorable Treatment and Support of Persons of Distinguished Service to the State (Duties of the State and Local Governments), the state is required to prioritize national veterans when establishing welfare policies," adding, "This law is practically being treated as useless."
The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs responded in materials previously submitted to Park that they "do not separately manage" national veterans who are in the blind spot of COVID-19 vaccination.
Park said, "The Republic of Korea is the result of the dedication and sacrifice of countless citizens," and added, "If the state does not provide even the minimum honor to national veterans, who will be willing to sacrifice and take the lead for the country? Priority COVID-19 vaccination for national veterans must be implemented as soon as possible."
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