The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs said an amendment to the Act on the Honorable Treatment of Persons of Distinguished Services to Independence, which expands the scope of compensation for descendants of independence fighters, was approved at a Cabinet meeting Monday.
Once the amendment takes effect next year, about 2,300 descendants of independence fighters are expected to newly receive compensation payments.
Under the current law, surviving family members of independence fighters receive compensation up to spouses and children, with additional compensation paid to one grandchild only when the independence fighter died before Korea's 1945 liberation. This created discrimination in benefit eligibility, as grandchildren of independence fighters who died after liberation were unable to receive compensation.
Once the amendment takes effect, compensation will be paid to all grandchildren of independence fighters regardless of when the fighter died.
Critics had also pointed out that under the current system, when a child of an independence fighter died without receiving compensation, the benefit was paid to only one direct descendant closest to the fighter, limiting compensation to a single generation of survivors and falling short of the state's responsibility.
The amendment expands the scope of surviving family members to include the children of the initial recipient even when that recipient is a grandchild or further direct descendant, ensuring that at least two generations can receive compensation.
The amendment will be promulgated this month and take effect on January 1 of next year.
