Rep. Lee Hyung-seok Proposes Amendment for Voluntary Cancellation of National Orders and Decorations

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Rep. Lee Hyung-seok (Democratic Party of Korea·Gwangju Buk-gu Eul) announced on the 30th that he has taken the lead in proposing the "Partial Amendment to the Decorations Act," which allows recipients to voluntarily cancel the orders and medals awarded by the state.

Currently, South Korea awards orders or medals based on the Decorations Act to Korean nationals or foreigners who have made distinguished contributions to the Republic of Korea. The government determines the recipients by considering the merits and social ripple effects.

However, if a recipient ▲is found to have falsified the merits for the award ▲commits crimes related to national security and receives a sentence or flees to hostile territories ▲is sentenced to death, life imprisonment, or imprisonment or detention for one year or more and the sentence is finalized, the award is subject to cancellation.

The problem is that even if a recipient later finds their beliefs or government policies conflicting with the award or for other reasons wishes to cancel the award themselves, cancellation is currently impossible.

Under the current law, only the state has the authority to cancel awards; there is no provision allowing recipients to request cancellation on their own.

Although the government asks the candidate for their consent before awarding, once the award is granted, the recipient has no way to cancel it themselves.

There have been cases where recipients expressed their intention to return the awarded orders.

In 2006, actor Choi Min-sik protested the reduction of the screen quota system by returning the Ok-gwan Cultural Medal certificate and medal to the Ministry of Culture's information desk, but due to lack of regulations, the items were kept.

Also, in 2008, then Prime Minister nominee Han Seung-soo expressed his intention to return the Cheonsu Medal of the Order of National Security, which he received for his contribution as a financial committee member of the New Military Regime's National Security Emergency Planning Committee, and returned it to the government.

Rep. Lee said, "Due to the lack of legal provisions, there have been situations where people wanted to cancel their awards themselves but could not," adding, "I hope this amendment to the Decorations Act will serve as an opportunity to guarantee the freedom of conscience and freedom of expression as stated in the Constitution."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.