By Oh Hyun Woo and Kim Hwaya
Photos = Cheong Wa Dae

President Moon Jae-in on June 24 hosted a luncheon for Korean War veterans at Cheong Wa Dae.

Under the theme "To You Who Made the Korea of Today," the event began with a performance by the Little Angels Children’s Folk Ballet in the opening ceremony, followed by the reading of a letter to fellow soldiers and other acts.

President Moon mentioned the allowance for such veterans, which saw its biggest raise in history last year, the expansion of remarriage welfare services for veterans' widows and excavation of the remains of soldiers missing or killed in action during the war. He added that the government will try its best to reward what the veterans did for their country and "raise their honor."

Attending the event were some 180 veterans of the Korean military and United Nations forces, high-profile government officials and military officers such as Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Park Han-ki, U.S. Ambassador to Korea Harry Harris and U.S. Forces Korea Commander Robert B. Abrams.

President Moon also expressed gratitude to the U.S., which sent the most troops and supplies of any nation that participated in the Korean War.

"The administration will build a memorial wall at the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington," he said, adding, "Korea and the U.S. will remember the greatness of their bilateral alliance and open a permanent road for peace that nobody has walked yet."

The Moon administration is the country's first to host a luncheon for Korean War veterans at Cheong Wa Dae.



hyunw54@korea.kr