South Korea's Veterans Ministry Proposes 8% Budget Increase for 2027

By Kim Seung-yeon

SEOUL, Sept. 2 (Yonhap) -- The veterans ministry said Wednesday it is seeking an 8 percent hike in its 2027 budget to expand veterans benefits, support independence fighters' descendants and host an international sports event for injured soldiers.

The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs said it has proposed 7.22 trillion won (US$5.25 billion) for next year's budget, up by 532 billion won from this year's 6.68 trillion won.

The draft proposal calls for raising basic compensation for war veterans and allowances for persons of national merit, as well as benefits for descendants of independence fighters from Japan's 1910-45 colonization of the Korean Peninsula, the ministry said.

The ministry recently unveiled plans to expand the eligibility of independence fighters' benefits to their third-generation descendants in certain cases, which will add around 2,500 new recipients.

The ministry will lower the age threshold for those eligible to use veterans hospitals from the current 75 to 65, and continue to expand contracted medical institutions for veterans and their families.

The proposed budget also aims to transform Hyochang Park in central Seoul, a historic landmark housing the graves of key independence fighters, including the renowned activist Kim Koo, into a national cemetery that also features a public cultural space for citizens.

The ministry plans to launch a committee dedicated to the Hyochang Park cemetery initiative.

The proposed budget will fund the ministry's efforts to prepare for South Korea's hosting of the Invictus Games in 2029.

The central city of Daejeon, about 140 kilometers south of Seoul, won the bid in July to host the international sporting event for injured service members.

The draft budget will also fund programs to invite Korean War veterans who fought under the U.N. flag alongside South Korean forces against the Soviet-backed North during the 1950-53 conflict.

The ministry said it also plans to launch a specialized research team to conduct field surveys of the graves of independence activists who died abroad and repatriate their remains.