[Exclusive] Veterans Ministry Weighs Renaming "Sunguk Sunyeol Day" to "Independence Patriots Day"

Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs: "We will review the matter comprehensively, reflecting diverse opinions and the intent of the current law"
Plan to conduct internal discussions after collecting public opinions online

The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs is internally discussing a plan to change the official memorial day name of "Patriots' Day" (Sunguk Seonyeol-ui Nal) to "Independence Patriots' Day" (Doglib Seonyeol-ui Nal). The ministry plans to first gather public opinion online and then use the results as a basis for a concrete review of whether to change the name.

According to relevant ministries and agencies on February 11, the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs plans to collect public opinion online regarding the renaming of "Patriots' Day" and then continue internal discussions. An official from the ministry said, "We are comprehensively considering the Liberation Association's request to change the memorial day name, the opinions of descendants of independence merit honorees, the original intent behind the establishment of the memorial day in 1939, and the purpose of the current Act on the Honorable Treatment and Support of Persons of Distinguished Service to Independence."

Independence Hall of Korea, Cheonan, South Chungcheong. Photo by Kang Jinhyung

Patriots' Day is a memorial day established in 1939 by the Provisional Legislative Assembly of the Republic of Korea. Every year on November 17, the government has held a commemorative ceremony to honor the sacrifice and dedication of independence activists, including unknown patriots. The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs says it will seek public opinion as part of its review of ways to preserve the historical spirit of the memorial day while broadening the meaning of the name itself so that it fully includes all independence merit honorees, including unknown patriots.

"Independence Patriots' Day" is the name publicly proposed by the Liberation Association. However, an official from the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs drew a line, saying, "This has nothing to do with our position on the memorial service organized by the Liberation Association."

The name "Patriots' Day" has long been the subject of controversy. Ahead of Patriots' Day in 2024, the Liberation Association announced that it would hold its own "Joint Memorial Service for Patriots of Independence Merit" instead of attending the government-led commemorative ceremony. At the time, the Liberation Association proposed that the government change the name of its commemorative ceremony, saying, "Given that there are almost no surviving patriots in Korea, our basic position is that, going forward, we should not distinguish between patriots who died for the nation and surviving patriots, but commemorate them together as independence merit honorees."

The Bereaved Families Association of Patriots who Died for the Nation demanded that the name-change move be withdrawn, saying, "The Liberation Association's attempt to erase the term 'patriots who died for the nation' and to change the name of Patriots' Day will face the anger of not only the descendants of independence activists but of the entire nation."