President Lee Jae-myung pledged on Tuesday that "mandatory military service periods will be included in calculating pay grades and wages for discharged soldiers in the public sector."
The president made the remarks during a memorial address at the 11th West Sea Defense Day ceremony held at the Daejeon National Cemetery. "The people's sovereignty government is filling every gap in veterans' welfare to realize the principle of 'special compensation for special sacrifice,'" he said.
"Taking lifelong responsibility for those who were injured while defending the country is a proper and natural duty of the state," Lee said. "By 2030, we will expand the number of designated veterans' medical facilities nationwide to 2,000, so that persons of national merit can conveniently receive medical treatment at nearby hospitals at any time."
He stressed that "the more military service is recognized as a legitimate asset in society, the more 'citizens in uniform' will be able to serve with pride."
"The more we repay sacrifice for the nation and community with proper treatment, the stronger our security will become, and we will be able to move step by step toward a 'Republic of Korea where everyone is happy together,'" Lee added.
"Peace is bread, and peace is the people's livelihood," the president said. "Firmly protecting our people and the territory of the Republic of Korea with a powerful national defense, while building a peaceful Korean Peninsula free from the threat of war and hostility — this is the mission of our era left to us by the heroes of the West Sea defense."
He pledged to "devote all efforts to ending the past of confrontation and tension in the West Sea and writing a new history of shared growth and shared prosperity."
