Lee vows stronger support for veterans in Memorial Day speech

President Lee Jae Myung pledged stronger support for veterans, independence fighters and uniformed public servants on Saturday, saying Korea must repay those who sacrificed for the country with action, not rhetoric.

“Honor and compensation are not shown through words, but through action,” Lee said a ceremony marking Memorial Day. “Extraordinary sacrifices made for the country deserve extraordinary support in return.”

Lee said honoring those who served the nation was a responsibility shared by those living today.

“Recognition of sacrifice is what sustains a national community and moves it forward,” he said. “If devotion to the community is ignored, who will step forward for that community when the next crisis comes?”

 Lee said his administration was steadily carrying out promises made on Memorial Day last year, including expanded compensation for families of independence fighters and livelihood support for the spouses of deceased war veterans.

A revision to the Act on the Honorable Treatment of Persons of Distinguished Service to Independence passed the National Assembly this year and is scheduled to take effect next year, he said.

Lee also said the government was expanding designated medical institutions for veterans and preparing to designate quasi-veterans hospitals in Gangwon and Jeju, where there are currently no veterans hospitals.

“We will make promises we can keep, and once we make them, we will keep them,” Lee said. “We will repay noble sacrifices made for all of us.”

Lee also said Korea had a duty not only to honor those who defended the country, but to punish those who betrayed it for personal gain.

“When sacrifice is honored and betrayal is punished, a just unity becomes possible — one that allows the national community to endure and develop,” he said.

Lee said the government would use the Special Act on Asset Confiscation for Pro-Japanese and Anti-National Collaborators to the State, signed into law on June 2, to investigate and recover assets improperly accumulated by pro-Japanese, anti-national actors and establish a precedent to prevent similar cases.

Lee said the country should also give proper recognition to “uniformed citizens” who protect Korea today.

He said the government would improve support for service members injured during military service so they can be recognized as veterans immediately upon discharge.

“We will continue to look closely at their treatment and improve what remains lacking,” Lee said.

BY KIM EUN-BIN   [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]