By Lee Hyo-sik

The bereaved families of the two civilian construction workers killed by North Korea’s artillery attack on Yeonpyeong Island last week have been refusing to hold a funeral for the dead, demanding the government designate them as men of national merit who sacrificed themselves for others.

But the government is reluctant to accept their demands, saying the late Kim Chi-baek and Bae Bok-cheol died while performing private contracts and were just unfortunate civilian casualties.

Under the law, if recognized by the nation, their bodies will be buried at the National Cemetery and the bereaved families will be entitled to nearly 200 million won in compensation and other state benefits.

The bodies of the two civilian construction workers were found dead at a building site on the island, a day after the North’s attack.

Their bodies were moved to a hospital in the nearby port city of Incheon for forensic examination when ferry services resumed Thursday. A joint memorial altar has been set up since, drawing hundreds of mourners.

Kim Chi-joong, a brother of the late Kim, has said that the nation should take full responsibility for their deaths, arguing that the government should have prevented the communist state from shelling the island and protected his brother from the attack.

“They were killed while engaging in construction work inside the military base. On top of industrial disaster benefits, the government should recognize them as those who sacrificed their lives for the country and others,” Kim stressed.

Ongjin County has also asked the Ministry of Health and Welfare to accept the demands from the bereaved families of late Kim and Bae.

But given the way similar cases in the past were handled, it will be unlikely for them to be designated as men of national merit.

In April, two fishermen were found dead and seven others missing when their fishing boat, which had helped the Navy search for missing sailors of the sunken naval vessel Cheonan, went down in the West Sea. But they were not named as men of national merit because the boat sank while on the way to port, not during the search operation.

A ministry official said it first needs to check whether the deceased were killed while trying to help others, adding if they were, they will receive the designation. “But if they were killed at a construction site, it will be hard for us to accept the bereaved families’ demands.”

Meanwhile, the funeral for the two marines who were killed in the North’s artillery attack — the late Sgt. Seo Jeong-woo and Pvt. Moon Gwang-wuk — was held Saturday at the Armed Forces Hospital in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. The bodies were laid to rest at the National Cemetery in Daejeon.