The government plans to posthumously award Lt. Col. Kim O-rang the Order of Military Merit for resisting rebel forces during the Dec. 12 military coup.
On the 30th, the government said the Cabinet will vote the following day (the 31st) to rescind the Order of National Service previously awarded to Lt. Col. Kim.
Officials described the move as a procedural step to enable the conferral of the Order of Military Merit, which recognizes combat valor. The Order of National Service is typically reserved for noncombat contributions.
During the Dec. 12 uprising, Kim was chief of staff to Jeong Byung-ju at the Special Warfare Command. When rebels attempted to arrest the commander, Kim intervened and was fatally shot. In 2022, the Defense Ministry reclassified his death from "died on duty" to "killed in action."
Separately, the military is advancing plans to commission and erect a statue of Lt. Col. Kim on the Special Warfare Command grounds in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province.
