![President Lee Jae-myung speaks at a Korean Confederation of Trade Unions luncheon at the Blue House on the 24th. [Photo=Yonhap News]](https://contents-cdn.viewus.co.kr/image/2026/03/CP-2023-0070/image-465e1ba5-eb83-4c88-8f1a-d07258c55041.jpeg)
On the 24th, President Lee Jae-myung called it “unthinkable” that participants in the Dec. 12 military coup would retain military honors after they were revoked.
On X (formerly Twitter), he attached a news report saying the government had rescinded military awards for 10 people, including former Army Chief of Staff Kim Jin-young.
He added that he praised the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety for overseeing the revocation process.
At a Cabinet meeting chaired by the president that day, the government approved a measure to revoke the Chungmu Military Merit Medal previously awarded to 10 key participants in the Dec. 12 coup.
The government said the action aims to defend constitutional values by stripping military honors that were awarded illegally or improperly to those involved in the Dec. 12 uprising.
Military honors are divided into five grades, from the highest Taegeuk Military Merit Medal to the Inheon Military Merit Medal. The Chungmu Military Merit Medal is ranked third.
