Elevation of Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs and Establishment of Overseas Koreans Office After 10 Months of Yoon Administration

President Yoon Signs Bill at Yongsan Presidential Office This Afternoon
First Direct Signature Instead of Electronic Approval for Ministry Establishment Notification
New Overseas Korean Agency Established for 7.5 Million Overseas Koreans

President Yoon Suk-yeol will personally sign the government organization act promulgation bill on the 2nd, which centers on the elevation of the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs and the establishment of the Ministry of Overseas Koreans. This comes 10 months after President Yoon's inauguration.

According to the presidential office, President Yoon will hold a signing ceremony for the elevation of the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs and the establishment of the Ministry of Overseas Koreans at the Yongsan Presidential Office in the afternoon. About 50 veterans-related figures, including independence patriots and national defense meritorious persons, will also attend the signing ceremony.

First, to strengthen the functions of honoring and supporting national patriots and their families and to promote more efficient veterans policies, the Veterans Affairs Office will be elevated to the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs. This is the first time in 62 years since its predecessor, the Military Welfare Office, was established in 1961 that the National Veterans Affairs Office has been elevated to a ministry.

Additionally, to establish and implement comprehensive policies for the 7.5 million overseas Koreans and to strengthen support, the Ministry of Overseas Koreans will be newly established, and the Overseas Koreans Foundation, which was previously a public institution under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will be abolished. Accordingly, the government organization will be reorganized from 18 ministries, 4 offices, and 18 agencies to 19 ministries, 3 offices, and 19 agencies.

Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

This is the first time that the president personally signs a bill related to the establishment of a ministry, rather than the usual electronic approval process. It is interpreted as emphasizing respect for uniformed public officials who have devoted themselves to the nation and the determination to become a world-class veterans country.

Since his inauguration, President Yoon has consistently emphasized the importance of veterans at commemorative ceremonies such as Memorial Day, the Month of Patriots and Veterans, and Liberation Day. In his commemorative speech at the 104th March 1st Movement anniversary ceremony held at the Yu Gwan-sun Memorial Hall in Jung-gu, Seoul, the day before, President Yoon stressed, "If we do not properly remember the ancestors who devoted themselves to the country when it was in hardship, there is no future for us."