The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs recently requested from the National Archives of Korea records on those who are to be recognized as meritorious persons under the opposition Democratic Party of Korea's "bill on the honorable treatment of persons of distinguished service to democracy of Korea," but the request was turned down.
In a session of the bill review subcommittee of the National Policy Committee of the National Assembly on Tuesday, the ministry said that it had requested information on 829 people to be recognized as persons of merit under the bill and on 145 related incidents, but it had received a reply from the National Archives that it could not disclose that information.
The National Archives is said to have rejected the request citing the Personal Information Protection Act.
It is a natural procedure for a ministry in charge of rewarding patriots to review the achievements of persons of merit. It is unconvincing that the agency is unable to comply.
The bill proposed by Woo Won-shik, a representative for the opposition Democratic Party, calls for honorable treatment of 829 people involved in 145 incidents including the June 1987 Democracy Movement, the 1989 Dong-Eui University incident where police officers were killed or wounded in rescuing five riot police officers confined by students in the Busan-based university and the South Korean National Liberation Front Preparation Committee incident in which members of the left-wing underground organization seeking an armed revolution in South Korea were arrested in 1979.
Woo previously proposed the bill in 2020, but it failed to proceed amid public criticism of clauses extending special favors to children of meritorious persons who rendered distinguished service for the democracy of the nation. Then the Democratic Party removed some of the benefits, such as special university admission systems for their children and adding points to exam scores when their children apply for jobs in the government or at public institutions. Other benefits, such as support of medical expenses and low-interest loans, are reportedly under review. The party seeks to pass the revised version through the standing committee this month.
In 2020 under previous President Moon Jae-in, the Supreme Court ruled against disclosing the names and meritorious deeds of those who distinguished themselves in the May 18 Gwangju Uprising. The court cited that disclosure of information on the injuries and disability levels of people of merit may constitute invasion of privacy.
But it is hard to understand that service for one's country must be kept secret. Meritorious persons did not cause damage to the country. At least, their names and the content of their deeds should be disclosed, though their injuries or disability levels may be kept private.
Patriotic service should be known widely as an example to follow. People have the right to know who receives benefits for what meritorious deeds when taxpayer money is used to reward patriotism.
It is questionable if students involved in the Dong-Eui University incident are deserving of honors as contributors to democracy. The South Korean National Liberation Front Preparation Committee incident has not yet escaped suspicions that it attempted to connect to North Korea. A national consensus should precede the official recognition of meritorious services.
It is too obvious for the ministry to know the names and deeds of meritorious persons before rewarding them. It is nonsense to demand the ministry recognize them without screening records of their service.
If the Democratic Party wants to enact the bill, it must first disclose the names and deeds of the meritorious persons. And the related law must be revised to do away with the weird rule of keeping the names and deeds of such meritorious persons secret.
