Justice Ministry Launches Probe into Honors from Past Authoritarian Regimes

The Ministry of Justice has launched a comprehensive investigation into over 20,000 medals, decorations, and commendations awarded to prosecutors for their service during past authoritarian regimes, with the aim of reviewing and potentially revoking any improperly granted honors.

The Ministry of Justice has held two meetings with the Ministry of Interior and Safety to devise plans for revoking government awards and intends to secure detailed records of recipients' achievements to review the grounds for revoking the honors. This investigation is a process of re-examining the basis for conferring medals and commendations and the associated achievements.

According to the office of Rep. Park Eun-jeong of the Rebuilding Korea Party, the Ministry of Justice began its comprehensive investigation last month into the reasons for over 20,000 medals, decorations, and commendations awarded to prosecutors and investigators from 1955 to the present.

Under current laws governing honors and government commendations, awards can be revoked if their stated achievements are found to be false. The Ministry of Justice has identified the Order of Civil Merit (Hongjeon Medal), awarded in 1973 to former presidential chief of staff Kim Ki-choon for his role in drafting the Yushin Constitution, as an initial target for review.

If the investigation determines that an award was received for inappropriate contributions, the revocation of the honor will be pursued. The Ministry of Justice will determine the final candidates for revocation after examining the achievements of each individual recipient.