By Sohn JiAe
Photos = Cheong Wa Dae

President Moon Jae-in vowed for the better treatment of the nation’s independence fighters and their families, at a luncheon at Cheong Wa Dae on Aug. 14, with more than 150 independence patriots and their family members in attendance.

“Thanks to your sacrifices, we are able to speak and write in our own language now, enjoy our own culture and live our own precious daily lives,” said President Moon.

“One of the things that the new government has to put first among others is to carry out proper welfare policies for the independence patriots,” he stressed. Pointing out that only 58 of some 15,000 patriots are alive, President Moon said, “We must provide appropriate support to all of our national heroes when they are still alive.”



The president then announced a new set of policies to better serve the national patriots. The government will invest an additional KRW 50 billion to provide financial support to the offspring of the independence fighters and provide funds for funerals, and help the return of remains of such patriots, stressing that, “Such policies will be the shortest way to honor the patriots and also to strengthen national security and unity.”

The president went on to say that, “These new policies represent the government’s determination to honor the national heroes and their families to the ultimate end, securing their health and stable livelihood,” stressing that the best way to honor them is to build a country worthy of being called a “country.”

He concluded by saying that, “I promise to create a country that serves its patriots well so that every single patriot of the nation can feel that they are treated with proper respect, not just today, but all year around.”

jiae5853@korea.kr