Pro-North Korea or 'fake' independence fighters to lose national merit titles

Ministry to review individuals with controversial past during colonial era

Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs Park Min-shik attends an event held at the Federation of Korean Industries Head Office Building in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, Monday. (Yonhap)

The Veterans Ministry will revoke national merit titles from independence fighters who supported Kim Il-sung, the former leader and founder of North Korea's communist regime.

"Who would give credence to independence activists who once contributed to the creation of Kim Il-sung's North Korean regime or to the communist revolution, rather than to the construction of a liberal democratic Republic of Korea?" said Park Min-shik, the minister of patriots and veterans affairs, on his Facebook page. "Fake independence fighters can never be tolerated ... It is a matter directly related to the legitimacy of the free Republic of Korea," he added.

According to the current law, a person who has made clear contributions to the founding of the Republic of Korea or to solidifying the foundation of the country can be named people of national merit.

The ministry plans to rescind national merit titles from individuals whose official records are found to be false.

The national merit title given to Son Yong-woo, the father of former lawmaker Sohn Hye-won, will be reexamined due to Son Yong-woo's history of working for the Communist Party of Joseon, a political party and independence group launched in 1925 during the Japanese colonial period.

The titles awarded to Kim Geun-soo, former secretary for the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea, and Jeon Wol-soon, former member of the Korean Liberation Army, who are the parents of the late Kim Won-woong, former chairperson of the Heritage of Korean Independence organization, are also under reassessment, as their achievements have not been clearly proven, according to the ministry.

Meanwhile, the ministry is considering awarding titles of national merit to people whose contributions to modern and contemporary Korean society had been overlooked due to records of pro-Japanese activities.

Individuals about whom there have been disputes over whether they took part in pro-Japanese activities during the Japanese colonial occupation of Korea (1910-1945) such as Kim Seong-su, early entrepreneur and founder of newspaper Dong-A Ilbo and Korea University, as well as enlightenment activist and journalist Jang Ji-yeon, are under reevaluation.

By Lee Jung-youn(jy@heraldcorp.com)