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ACT ON THE ELEVATION OF HONOR OF U.N. KOREAN WAR VETERANS

Act No. 17117, Mar. 24, 2020

 Article 1 (Purpose)
The purpose of this Act is to enhance the national image of the Republic Korea in the international community and to contribute to the development of free democracy by providing for matters necessary to elevate the honor of U.N. Korean War veterans who sacrificed themselves for the protection of free democracy in the Republic of Korea and to strengthen cooperative ties with U.N. Sending States.
 Article 2 (Definitions)
The definitions of the terms used in this Act shall be as follows:
1. The term “Korean War” means the war defined in subparagraph 1 of Article 2 of the Act on Honorable Treatment of War Veterans and Establishment of Related Associations;
2. The term “U.N. Korean War veterans” means soldiers belonging to the United Nations Forces that participated in the Korean War;
3. The term “U.N. Sending States” means the member states of the United Nations that participated in the Korean War and is listed in the attached Table.
 Article 3 (Responsibilities of the State and Local Governments)
The State and local governments shall establish and implement policies necessary to elevate the honor of U.N. Korean War veterans and to strengthen cooperative ties with U.N. Sending States.
 Article 4 (Relationship to Other Statutes)
This Act shall apply to elevation of the honor of U.N. Korean War veterans, except as otherwise provided in other statutes.
 Article 5 (U.N. Forces Participation Day and International Memorial Day for U.N. Korean War Veterans)
(1) The 27th of July in each year is designated as the U.N. Forces Participation Day in order to pay tribute to the contribution of the U.N. Sending States that participated in the Korean War and protected free democracy in the Republic of Korea.
(2) The 11th of November in each year is designated as the International Memorial Day for U.N. Korean War Veterans in order to commemorate the sacrifice and contribution of U.N. Korean War Veterans that participated in the Korean War and protected free democracy in the Republic of Korea and to honor them along with U.N. Sending States.
 Article 6 (Master Plans)
(1) The Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs shall establish a master plan to elevate the honor of U.N. Korean War veterans and to strengthen cooperative ties with U.N. Sending States (hereinafter referred to as “master plan”) every five years in consultation with the heads of relevant central administrative agencies. In this case, the Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs may hear opinions of the governments of the U.N. Sending States, the heads of local governments and the heads of relevant organizations.
(2) Master plans shall include the following:
1. Basic objectives of, and direction-setting for implementing, the policy to elevate the honor of U.N. Korean War veterans and to strengthen cooperative ties with U.N. Sending States;
2. Establishing, adjusting and evaluating major policies and making institutional improvements to elevate the honor of U.N. Korean War veterans and to strengthen cooperative ties with U.N. Sending States;
3. A scheme to create an exchange and cooperative framework with U.N. Sending States;
4. A scheme to raise and manage finance resources to elevate the honor of U.N. Korean War veterans and to strengthen cooperative ties with U.N. Sending States;
5. A local and international PR schemes in respect of strengthening cooperative ties with U.N. Sending States;
6. Other matters determined by the Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs to be necessary to elevate the honor of U.N. Korean War veterans and to strengthen cooperative ties with U.N. Sending States;
7. Other matters deemed necessary by the Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs to elevate the honor of U.N. Korean War veterans and to strengthen cooperative ties with U.N. Sending States.
(3) Except as provided in paragraphs (1) and (2), matters necessary to establish the master plans shall be prescribed by Presidential Decree.
 Article 7 (Implementation Plans)
(1) The Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs shall establish and implement an implementation plan to elevate the honor of U.N. Korean War veterans and to strengthen cooperative ties with U.N. Sending States (hereinafter referred to as “implementation plan”) every year in accordance with the master plan.
(2) Matters necessary to establish and implement implementation plans shall be prescribed by Presidential Decree.
 Article 8 (Surveys)
(1) The Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs may conduct a survey or compile statistics on the current status of U.N. Korean War veterans in order to establish and implement master plans and implementation plans effectively.
(2) Matters necessary in respect of matters to be surveyed, survey methods and compilation and management of statistics under paragraph (1) shall be prescribed by Presidential Decree.
 Article 9 (Conducting Projects to Elevate Honor of U.N. Korean War Veterans)
The Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs may conduct the following projects to elevate the honor of U.N. Korean War veterans:
1. Discovering U.N. Korean War veterans that rendered outstanding services during the Korean War and recognizing their outstanding services;
2. Providing U.N. Korean War veterans with honorable treatment and support when they die or their remains are buried in Korea;
3. Other memorial and commemorative projects for U.N. Korean War veterans.
 Article 10 (Conducting Exchange and Cooperation Projects with U.N. Sending States)
The Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs may conduct the following projects in cooperation with the governments or private organizations of U.N. Sending States in order to enhance exchanges and cooperative ties with U.N. Sending States:
1. Holding events by inviting U.N. Korean War veterans to Korea and holding appreciation events for U.N. Korean War veterans in U.N. Sending States;
2. Holding international conferences with U.N. Sending States regarding veterans services;
3. International joint research on veterans services;
4. People-to-people and information exchanges with U.N. Sending States.
 Article 11 (Support to Construct U.N. War Memorial Buildings)
(1) The Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs may provide necessary support for a local private organization, a U.N. Sending State or a private organization of a U.N. Sending State if it constructs a U.N. war memorial building, such as a memorial hall, exhibition hall or monument (hereinafter referred to as “U.N. war memorial building”), in order to pay tribute to the sacrifice and contribution of U.N. Korean War veterans.
(2) The Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs may render financial support within the budget to meet, in part, the costs for managing a U.N. war memorial building, where necessary, in addition to the construction costs under paragraph (1)
(3) Those eligible for support for construction or management costs and requirements and procedures for support under paragraphs (1) and (2) and other necessary matters shall be prescribed by Presidential Decree.
 Article 12 (Subsidization for Private Organizations)
(1) The Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs may, within the budget, subsidize a private organization in Korea or any of the U.N. Sending States that conducts projects or activities to elevate the honor of U.N. Korean War veterans and to strengthen cooperative ties with U.N. Sending States to meet the costs for the projects or activities.
(2) Matters necessary for subsidization under paragraph (1) shall be prescribed by Presidential Decree.
 Article 13 (Discovering, Preserving and Utilizing U.N. War Participation Records)
(1) The Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs shall discover and preserve records having historical value relating to U.N.’s participation in the Korean War.
(2) The Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs shall make the records discovered and preserved under paragraph (1) easily available to the citizens by such means as translation, publication and digitization.
 Article 14 (Cooperation from Relevant Agencies)
(1) The Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affair may require the head of a relevant central administrative agency, the head of a local government or the head of a relevant agency, legal person or organization to submit materials or request necessary cooperation therefrom if necessary to perform the following duties. In this case, the head of the relevant central administrative agency, etc. in receipt of a request for cooperation shall comply with the request, unless there is a compelling reason not to do so:
1. Establishing, implementing and evaluating the master plans and implementation plans;
2. Surveys, etc. under Article 8;
3. Support to construct U.N. war memorial buildings under Article 11;
4. Discovering, preserving and utilizing U.N. war participation records under Article 13.
(2) The Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affair may request cooperation from the heads of Korean diplomatic missions abroad in consultation with the Minister of Foreign Affairs in order to efficiently perform the duties under this Act. In this case, the Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affair may reimburse the Korean diplomatic missions abroad for expenses incurred in performing the relevant duties within the budget.
ADDENDA <Act No. 17117, Mar. 24, 2020>
Article 1 (Enforcement Date)
This Act shall enter into force six months after the date of its promulgation.
Article 2 Omitted.