Park Jin-kyung’s National Merit Registration Cancelled... Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs (MPVA) to Re-examine with Participation of Jeju 4.3 History Experts

[Financial News Jeju = Reporter Jeong Yong-bok] Following the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs (MPVA)'s cancellation of the registration of the late Colonel Park Jin-kyung, who served as the commander of the 9th Regiment stationed in Jeju during the Jeju uprising, as a person of national merit due to procedural flaws, the Veterans Affairs Review Committee, which includes history experts, will re-evaluate whether to recognize him.
According to the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs (MPVA) on the 13th, the ministry confirmed that the deliberation and resolution of the Veterans Affairs Review Committee were omitted from the registration process of Colonel Park Jin-kyung as a person of national merit. After reviewing relevant laws and registration procedures and seeking legal advice, the previous registration decision was canceled last February, and the Veterans Affairs Review Committee is currently reviewing whether he qualifies as a person of national merit.
It is not a method of re-examining while maintaining the existing status of a person of national merit. Instead, the structure involves revoking the previous registration decision and going through the statutory deliberation process again from the beginning.
The Veterans Affairs Review Committee is a collegial body that deliberates and decides on matters such as the eligibility requirements for registration as a person of national merit and the degree of disability. Due to the nature of its work, which involves determining the causal relationship between the performance of official duties and injury or death, it has been operated primarily by experts in the fields of law, medicine, veterans affairs, and military affairs.
The evaluation of Colonel Park Jin-kyung is different in nature. This is because it must examine not only the individual's military service and decoration but also the historical context of the military's suppression process and the role of state power during the Jeju uprising in 1948.

Reflecting this unique nature, the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs (MPVA) has decided to include a history expert as a member of the review committee for Colonel Park's future evaluation. Currently, the Veterans Affairs Review Committee does not include any specialists in the field of Jeju 4.3 history.
Special lectures by experts on the situation during the Jeju uprising are also being conducted for administrative personnel responsible for the practical aspects of the review. The scope of fact-finding verification has also been expanded through on-site investigations in Jeju, including listening to the opinions of stakeholders and requesting data from relevant agencies.
Organizational reinforcement is also being pursued. The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs (MPVA) plans to add two specialized personnel, including a history research specialist, to its regular organizational structure for 2027. This measure aims to reinforce permanent expertise to handle matters requiring historical evaluation during the screening of persons of national merit.
The reason this re-examination is drawing attention is the position Colonel Park occupies in the unfolding of the Jeju uprising.
According to the Jeju 4.3 Peace Foundation, Lieutenant Colonel Kim Ik-ryeol, then commander of the 9th Regiment, held peace negotiations with Kim Dal-sam of the armed group on April 28, 1948, to discuss a cessation of hostilities and disarmament. However, the negotiations fell through following the US military government's policy of armed suppression and the Orari arson incident, and Lieutenant Colonel Kim was dismissed.
Colonel Park assumed command of the 9th Regiment on May 6 of the same year, succeeding Lieutenant Colonel Kim. The Jeju 4.3 Peace Foundation describes the replacement of the regimental commander as a major personnel measure in the process of the hardline suppression intensifying.

The government's historical awareness of the Jeju uprising is also a context that cannot be overlooked in the review. In October 2003, the government finalized the Jeju 4·3 Incident Truth Investigation Report. In the same month, based on the report, then-President Roh Moo-hyun officially apologized for the large-scale civilian casualties caused by state power and the wrongdoings of past state authority.
Therefore, the question of whether Colonel Park should be recognized as a person of national merit is different in nature from merely confirming the fact that he was awarded a military merit medal. It is a matter that requires a joint review of the results of the Jeju 4·3 Incident truth investigation already confirmed by the government, the specific actions of the individual in question, and the requirements under the Act on Persons of National Merit.
This is also the background behind the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs (MPVA)'s decision to involve history experts in the review process and even conduct on-site investigations in Jeju. However, the review schedule, the specific number of history experts, and their fields of expertise have not yet been finalized. Last February, the Ministry also announced a plan to establish a dedicated team within the Veterans Affairs Review Committee to handle the review of persons of national merit, such as recipients of military merit medals.
The re-examination of Colonel Park is expected to serve as a precedent demonstrating not only whether an individual should be recognized as a person of national merit, but also the procedures and expertise with which the state reviews figures at the center of significant historical controversy.
An official from the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs (MPVA) stated, "We will conduct an objective and fair review in accordance with relevant laws and procedures, following sufficient data investigation, gathering of expert opinions, and verification of the facts."


[email protected] Jeong Yong-bok Reporter