Park to grant 2-day vacation to military servicemen

President Park Geun-hye will grant two-day holidays to military servicemen in celebration of the Korean harvest holiday, Chuseok, the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said Sunday.

The vacations will allow noncommissioned officers and other conscripts of lower ranks to take two days off at a time of their choosing, the presidential office said in a statement.

"The latest gesture of celebrations was decided in recognition of the efforts the servicemen showed in keeping their combat readiness, especially against North Korea's land mine detonation in the demilitarized zone and the firing of shells." Cheong Wa Dae said, referring to weeks-long inter-Korean military tensions last month.

Also in celebration of the Chuseok holiday, which falls next Sunday, the president will provide servicemen with cards with encouraging messages and snacks as gifts, according to the office.

"The decision may boost military morale and remind the public and industry of the importance of national security," a Cheong Wa Dae official said.

Park also plans to send a wreath to a memorial ceremony for late independence fighter Yu Gwan-sun next week, the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs said.

"The presidential wreath will be presented in consideration of the symbolism the female patriotic martyr holds as well as the 70th anniversary of national independence," the ministry said in a statement.

With the flower dispatch to the ceremony scheduled on Tuesday, Park will become the first president to take the action for the famous female independence fighter.

Yu, then a 17-year-old student, led a regional independence movement in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, in April 1919, which took place following the major March 1 independence uprising in Seoul in the same year.

She was arrested for her role, imprisoned and tortured to death the following year. (Yonhap)