Foreign vets' burial at national cemeteries may be allowed

By Jun Ji-hye

The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs is moving to propose a law that will allow foreigners who fought in the 1950-53 Korean War to be buried at Korean national cemeteries, officials said Friday.

The ministry will make a pre-announcement of legislation on July 27, the anniversary of the Korean War armistice, to allow veterans, who fought under the U.N. flag and were awarded the Order of Military Merit by the Korean government, to be buried there if they or the families of the deceased want.

A pre-announcement of legislation is part of the procedure in government legislation that requires ministries to tell the public of the content of a law through the media and government publications for more than 40 days to listen to opinions from the people, before proposing a law.

Under the standing law, those who do not have Korean citizenship can be buried in the national cemeteries if they meet criteria set by a presidential decree, but this mostly applies to those who lost their Korean citizenship for unavoidable reasons, according to officials.

Only two ethnic Chinese, who took part in the war in the South Korean armed forces, were buried at the Seoul National Cemetery, while most of the fallen U.N. soldiers were laid to rest at the United Nations Memorial Cemetery in Busan, according to the ministry.

The ministry noted that 40,670 servicemen of the 21 U.N. allied nations were killed during the conflict, with 104,280 wounded and 4,116 missing.

The ministry has held various programs to express the nation’s gratitude for the service of the war veterans, which includes revisit events that began in 1975, and have invited some 30,000 veterans and their families to the country they fought for.

“Preparing a law is also part of the ministry’s efforts to express the nation’s gratitude for their service,” said a ministry official. “Once the law is created, it would be much easier for the ministry to secure the relevant budget or seek cooperation from related institutes.

“Placing the bodies in the national cemeteries would be the highest level of respectful treatment for war veterans, and there have been some who have expressed their willingness to be buried there.”