Regarding the Controversy Over National Security Act Violators
"We Should Exclude Them for Now and Proceed"
On July 31, Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs Kwon Oeul stated, regarding the 'Act on the Treatment of Democratic Meritorious Persons (Democratic Meritorious Persons Act)' being promoted by the ruling party, "We will work to ensure that the Democratic Meritorious Persons Act is enacted as soon as possible."
Minister Kwon, speaking with reporters that afternoon at the Ministry of National Defense in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, said, "One of the things that surprised me after taking office was that many activists, such as Lee Han-yeol and Park Jong-chul, who lost their lives during the democratization movement in their youth, have still not been designated as meritorious persons," and expressed his intention to address this issue.
The Democratic Meritorious Persons Act, promoted by the ruling party, is centered on the state honoring as meritorious persons those who died, went missing, or were injured and received a disability rating in connection with the democratization movement. Since those recognized as meritorious persons under the existing Act on the Honorable Treatment of Persons of Distinguished Service to the State are limited to those related to the 4·19 Revolution and the 5·18 Democratization Movement, this new legislation was prepared to address the need for a law for those involved in the 1987 democratization movement.
Minister Kwon further stated, "Although compensation has been provided under the Act on Compensation and Restoration of Honor for Persons Involved in the Democratization Movement, these individuals have not been honored as meritorious persons at all, so their honor must be restored," and added, "I am telling you that we will push for the enactment of this law."
In response to a question about whether the inclusion of those who violated the National Security Act had been a point of contention between the ruling and opposition parties during discussions on the law, Minister Kwon said, "My position is that we should first exclude those involved in incidents where there are disagreements between the parties, and proceed with the law. After making progress in this way, we can make additional improvements. I do not think it is right for the enactment of the law itself to be delayed because of this issue."
Meanwhile, Minister Kwon emphasized his intention to increase the veterans' affairs budget. He said, "Currently, the veterans' affairs budget is less than 1% of the national budget, whereas in the United States it is 4.6% and in the United Kingdom it is also 4.6%," and added, "Our goal is to ensure that next year at least 1% of our budget is allocated to veterans' affairs, in line with advanced countries, and we will hold special consultations with the budget authorities to achieve this."
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