Veterans Minister Kwon Oh-eul pledges expanded compensation, touts Invictus Games hosting

SEOUL, July 24 (Yonhap) -- Veterans Minister Kwon Oh-eul said Friday he would make efforts to further eliminate blind spots of compensation for surviving family members of war veterans and the descendants of independence activists.

Kwon made the remarks as he marked his first year in office, as his ministry launched a subsidy program for surviving spouses of deceased war veterans in March as part of its efforts to expand compensation for low-income veterans, patriots and their family members.

The benefits are applicable to some 17,000 people aged 80 or older, whose household income is at or below 50 percent of the median income, according to the ministry.

The ministry also expanded compensation for the descendants of activists who fought for the country's independence from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule of Korea.

Under the new measures, which will take effect in 2027, descendants of independence activists will be eligible for compensation regardless of when the activists died. Previously, only one descendant was offered the subsidies if the independence activist had died before Korea's liberation from Japanese colonial rule, aside from their spouses and children.

Meanwhile, Kwon also touted the designation of the central city of Daejeon as the host city for the Invictus Games in 2029, saying it will mark a "turning point" to promote South Korea's capacity to provide medical care and rehabilitation services for veterans.

On Monday, the Invictus Games Foundation in Britain chose Daejeon over Aalborg in Denmark and San Diego in the United States, to host the 2029 competition, marking the first Asian country to stage the international sporting event for injured service members.