Jeonnam Saves 16.2 Billion Won in Bereaved Families' Expenses During Custody
[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Jun-kyung] Choi Seon-guk, Chairman of the Health, Welfare, and Environment Committee of the Jeonnam Provincial Council (Democratic Party of Korea, Mokpo 1), urged thorough efforts to attract the Jeonnam National Cemetery construction project during the Health and Welfare Bureau's work report.
According to the Jeonnam Provincial Council on the 2nd, most national veterans in the Honam region are buried not in Jeonnam but at the Imsil National Cemetery in Jeonbuk, and among them, 36%, or 11,551 veterans, have ties to Gwangju and Jeonnam.
Chairman Choi pointed out, "In the case of Wando County in Jeonnam, the distance to the Imsil National Cemetery in Jeonbuk takes up to 6 hours, causing significant inconvenience in terms of time and cost for most families of national veterans."
He added, "A feasibility study conducted by the Gwangju-Jeonnam Research Institute in 2018 predicted that establishing a national cemetery in Jeonnam would result in cost savings of approximately 16.2 billion KRW," and emphasized, "The need to attract the Jeonnam National Cemetery, the last remaining wish of national veterans in the province, is growing."
He further stressed, "Recently, with the confirmation of a national cemetery in Hoengseong, Gangwon Province, Jeonnam is the only metropolitan local government without a national cemetery," and said, "Constructing a national cemetery in Jeonnam, which had the highest number of casualties during the Korean War, would be the highest honor for the elderly national veterans currently living."
Meanwhile, the 2023 budget of the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs includes feasibility study expenses for the construction of a national cemetery in the Jeonnam area. The Ministry and Jeonnam Province plan to select the final site within this year and complete the construction by 2028.
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