Officer killed in gunbattle while protecting Special Forces commander
Government to revoke Boguk Medal and replace it with a Medal for Military Merit after recognizing death as 'killed in action'
Military moves forward with plan to erect statue at Special Forces facilities
Government to revoke Boguk Medal and replace it with a Medal for Military Merit after recognizing death as 'killed in action'
Military moves forward with plan to erect statue at Special Forces facilities
On the 30th, the military said the Defense Ministry intends to cancel the Boguk Medal that was previously conferred on Kim and to grant him a Medal for Military Merit instead. The medal’s class will be determined after review by the Defense Ministry.
Revoking the original award requires a Cabinet decision. The government plans to place the matter on the Cabinet agenda and vote at the meeting on the 31st.
The move reflects the Defense Ministry’s 2022 determination that Kim’s death should be classified as killed in action rather than a duty-related death.
During the Dec. 12, 1979, coup, then-Major Kim served as chief of staff to Special Forces commander Jung Byung-ju. He exchanged gunfire with elements of the new military faction’s 3rd Airborne Brigade, which had moved to arrest the commander, and died at the scene after suffering six gunshot wounds. The military posthumously promoted him one rank, from major to lieutenant colonel, in 1990. Kim was awarded the Boguk Medal in 2014.
In 2013, the National Assembly’s National Defense Committee led a resolution calling for Kim to receive the Medal for Military Merit; the resolution passed the full assembly. After review, however, the Defense Ministry awarded the Boguk Medal instead. The Boguk Medal recognizes noncombat service, while the Medal for Military Merit honors actions taken in combat.
Officials originally classified Kim’s death as duty-related rather than killed in action. Under the Military Personnel Act, a duty-related death denotes a death that occurs while performing official duties. Killed in action covers deaths in combat with an enemy, deaths caused by enemy actions, or deaths sustained while suppressing armed riots, rebellions, or other serious public disorder.
In 2022, the Presidential Commission on the Investigation of Military Deaths requested that the Defense Ministry reexamine Kim’s classification. After its review, the Defense Ministry acknowledged that Kim died resisting the military coup and corrected his status to killed in action.
Following the Cabinet vote on the 31st, the government will complete the required procedures and plans to invite Kim’s family to a formal conferment ceremony as early as next month.
The military is also moving ahead with plans to commission a statue of Kim and display it at a military site. A National Defense Committee official said, “The Special Forces Command is planning to build a statue of Kim on its own, but it’s still in the planning stage.” The Icheon Special Forces Command in Gyeonggi Province has been mentioned as a possible location. In 2013, the National Defense Committee considered erecting a statue on the Korea Military Academy grounds.
On the 24th, the government revoked the Chungmu Medal for Military Merit from 10 former members of the new military faction, including former Army Chief of Staff Kim Jin-young, after finding false claims in their records related to the Dec. 12 coup.
