If the bill passes the plenary session, the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs will reconsider the ‘Act on Treating Persons of Democratic Merit (Democratic Meritorious Persons Act)’, which leaves open the possibility that those sentenced to prison for violating the National Security Act may become meritorious persons receiving national courtesy, to President Yoon Seok-yeol. They announced that they are considering a proposal to exercise the right to demand (veto). On the 23rd, when the Democratic Party of Korea submitted this bill directly to the plenary session at the National Assembly’s Political Affairs Committee, the Ministry of Veterans Affairs, which enforces the law, took a hard-line stance, saying that if the law is implemented without clear standards for which cases will be considered cases of democratic merit, it could only aggravate social controversy. It was shown.
●“Which incident is a case of democratic merit?… “Standards unclear”
Lee Hee-wan, Vice Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs, held a briefing at the Ministry of National Defense in Seoul on the 25th and emphasized the need to supplement the bill, saying, “Determining the subject of compensation for damage caused by the democratization movement and determining meritorious persons who are subject to national respect and honor are issues of a completely different level.” An official from the Ministry of Veterans Affairs said, “If the bill is passed as is, won’t we have the right to veto?” and “We are considering whether to recommend exercising the right to veto.”
The number of people determined to be involved in the democratization movement according to the two laws classified as the so-called ‘Democracy Compensation Act’, such as the ‘Act on Restoration of Honor and Compensation, etc. of Persons Related to the Democratization Movement’ and the ‘Act on Restoration of Honor and Compensation, etc. of Persons Related to the Democratic Uprising,’ is 10,364. It’s a name. The Democracy Movement Act clearly states that those who died, went missing, or were injured can be considered as persons of democratic merit, receiving the same social courtesy and respect as national meritorious persons, such as Korean War veterans, independence activists, soldiers and police officers who died in the line of duty.
The Ministry of Veterans Affairs estimates that the number of people subject to deliberation will be 911, referring to the White Paper on the Democratization Movement published by the Democratic Deliberation and Compensation Deliberation Committee in 2015. However, the Ministry of Veterans Affairs explains that the number of 911 people was independently selected by the Ministry of Veterans Affairs and that the number of people subject to the review of persons of democratic merit may increase significantly in the future because the Democratic Meritorious Persons Act does not have clear criteria for reviewing persons of democratic merit.
Regarding this, Vice Minister Lee said, “The subjects of application of the Act on Contributors to Democracy include various cases recognized by the Compensation for Democracy Act, such as the movement against dictatorship, education, media, and labor movements, the Busan Doneui University incident, the Seoul National University Frakchi, and the Nammin Exhibition. Which of these cases are considered ‘contributors to democracy? He emphasized, “There are serious difficulties in determining whether a person has contributed to democracy because there is no clear review standard for whether or not it is an incident.”
●“Praisers of North Korea – Concerns that North Korean victims will be treated as ‘all meritorious people’”
The Ministry of Veterans Affairs also viewed the fact that, unlike the National Meritorious Persons Act, which stipulates that registration as a person of national merit must be reviewed and resolved by the Veterans Affairs Review Committee, this bill also states that “the person may undergo deliberation and resolution by the Veterans Affairs Review Committee,” was also viewed as a major flaw. An official from the Ministry of Veterans Affairs said, “As the review and resolution of the Veterans Affairs Review Committee is defined as discretionary rather than mandatory, all personnel who received compensation under the Democratization Compensation Act in the future may become persons of democratic merit without separate deliberation,” and added, “In this case, Dongeui University (1989) He pointed out, “Those involved in the incident in which seven police officers and riot police officers who participated in the suppression died in the line of duty can also be considered contributors to democracy as they were compensated by the Democracy Compensation Act.” According to the Act on Persons of Democratic Merit, those involved in the 1984 Seoul National University fraud incident, where innocent civilians were accused of being ‘fraudsters’ and imprisoned and assaulted, are also subject to review as persons of democratic merit.
The biggest issue in this bill is that it opens the way for people who have been sentenced to imprisonment or heavier for violating the National Security Act to become persons of merit through deliberation and resolution by the Veterans Affairs Review Committee. The National Meritorious Persons Act ‘naturally excludes’ those who have been sentenced to prison for violating the National Security Act and whose sentence is confirmed, from being subject to the law. On the other hand, the Democratic Merit Act excludes them, but specifies ‘conditional exclusion’ by stipulating that “exclusion from the application of the law must be reviewed and resolved by the Veterans Affairs Review Committee,” so it may be excluded depending on the disposition of the veterans review committee reviewer or the nature of the future administration. There is criticism that it is possible to become a person of merit despite violating the National Security Act.
An official from the Ministry of Veterans Affairs said, “It is natural to look into the detailed circumstances in cases where the past military dictatorship applied the National Security Act unreasonably and an unjust sentence was confirmed,” but added, “However, in some cases, there were active activities such as praising, propaganda, and sympathizing with North Korea. He pointed out, “The bill should not be passed as is, as it leaves open the possibility for even these people to become meritorious people depending on the tendencies of the deliberation committee members.”
Vice Minister Lee, who spoke before the briefing on this day, is a person of national merit who lost his right leg to a North Korean bullet while participating in the Second Battle of Yeonpyeong in 2002 as the commander of Chamsuri No. 357 (speed boat). There are concerns that if this bill passes as is, those who praise North Korea and those like Vice Minister Lee, who lost his leg to the North Korean military, may end up being treated as people of merit.
In response to the argument, mainly from the opposition party, that people of democratic merit are not eligible for practical support such as employment and education, unlike people of national merit, Vice Minister Lee said, “In the case of people of democratic merit and their children, they are not eligible for special college admissions in accordance with Article 42-6 of the Enforcement Decree of the Higher Education Act. “We clearly inform you that it is included,” he refuted.
An official from the Ministry of Veterans Affairs said, “The Ministry of Veterans Affairs is not opposed to the legislation of the Democratic Meritorious Persons Act itself,” and added, “After sufficient social consensus, such as supplementing the toxic provisions and major flaws in the bill, we will create a bill with minimal flaws to prevent future social controversy.” “It is,” he emphasized.
Reporter Son Hyo-joo [email protected]
Military reporter Sang-ho Yoon [email protected]
Tags: Democratic Meritorious Persons Act growing controversy .. Ministry Patriots Veterans Affairs request presidential veto passed DongA Ilbo
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