[Exclusive] Yoon Chokes Up Over 'Cheonan Ship Sinking'... What About Additional Awards for Survivors of the Second Battle of Yeonpyeong?

[Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club]
Plan to Upgrade Awards on West Sea Defense Day
Government Rejects, Saying "Hard to Overturn Award Decisions"

On the 24th, the Ministry of National Defense's plan to award upgraded honors to the soldiers who participated in the Second Battle of Yeonpyeong in commemoration of West Sea Defense Day was canceled. The Second Battle of Yeonpyeong was a clash that occurred during the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup period when North Korea shelled the northwestern area near Yeonpyeong Island off the West Sea NLL, and it served as the inspiration for the film "Yeonpyeong Battle."

According to the Ministry of National Defense on the day, 19 soldiers who participated in the Second Battle of Yeonpyeong requested a reevaluation of their merits to the Navy Headquarters last year. The Second Battle of Yeonpyeong occurred on the morning of June 29, 2002, near Yeonpyeong Island when a North Korean patrol boat crossed the Northern Limit Line (NLL) and ambushed the ROK Navy's Chamsuri 357 with gunfire, resulting in six soldiers killed and 19 wounded after the engagement.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

At that time, the government issued guidelines not to escalate tensions between the North and South to ensure the successful hosting of the World Cup. Due to this atmosphere, veterans of the Yeonpyeong Battle claim they were not properly recognized. For example, Reserve Sergeant Lee Haeyoung was the last among the veterans to be recognized as a war-injured military personnel in November last year, but his injuries from the Yeonpyeong Battle were not reflected at all, and he was classified as a grade 7 public injury instead of a war injury. Public injury refers to injuries sustained during education or training, whereas soldiers regard war injury classification, which acknowledges actual combat participation, as more honorable.

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Previously, surviving soldiers received awards including the Chungmu Medal (1 person), Hwarang Medal (1 person), Military Merit Medal (4 persons), Presidential Citation (2 persons), Prime Minister Citation (2 persons), Minister Citation (6 persons), and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Citation (3 persons).

Following the surviving soldiers' request for reevaluation of merits, the Navy Headquarters recommended to the Ministry of National Defense to upgrade the awards of nine recipients below the Minister of Defense to six Presidential Citations and three Prime Minister Citations, and to upgrade Sergeant Hwang Changgyu (who had 41 medals at the time) from a Presidential Citation to a Military Merit Medal due to additional merits.

Award upgrades are recommended by the Minister of the Interior and Safety and decided through deliberation at the State Council. However, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety refused the upgrade during consultations with the Ministry of National Defense, stating, "If additional merits are not certain, the results of the initial merit review committee cannot be overturned." Because of this, the planned additional awards for the veterans of the Second Battle of Yeonpyeong at the West Sea Defense Day ceremony held that day were canceled.

Inside and outside the military, there are calls to redefine the significance of combat achievements and consider award upgrades, as in the case of the Yeonpyeong Island shelling. The Yeonpyeong Island shelling occurred on November 23, 2010, when North Korean forces fired about 170 rounds of multiple rocket launchers from the Gaemori position on Ongjin Peninsula, Hwanghae Province, toward Daeyeonpyeong Island in Ongjin County, Incheon, South Korea, resulting in two soldiers killed and 16 wounded.

This engagement was also called the "Yeonpyeong Island shelling provocation" immediately after it occurred, and no merit review committee was held for the participating soldiers. However, in March 2021, the Ministry of National Defense officially renamed it the "Yeonpyeong Island shelling," submitted a proposal for awarding medals to surviving soldiers, and on October 1, 2021, at the 73rd Armed Forces Day ceremony, four soldiers received medals and citations, and on October 12 of the same year, 14 soldiers received Military Merit Medals, National Security Medals, and Presidential Citations. A military official said, "Since the Second Battle of Yeonpyeong monument installed at the 2nd Fleet in Pyeongtaek was changed to a victory monument and recognized as a victorious naval battle, appropriate honors are necessary."

Meanwhile, President Yoon Suk-yeol attended the 8th West Sea Defense Day ceremony held at the National Daejeon National Cemetery on the day and stated, "We will forever remember the 55 heroes who bravely sacrificed their lives in response to North Korea's armed provocations." Before his commemorative speech, President Yoon personally called out the names of the 55 heroes, saying, "I will call the names of the 55 eternal men of the sea," and became emotional.