The government has announced plans to increase the special honor payments for living patriots and establish a new living support fund for elderly, low-income spouses left behind after the death of Korean War veterans in next year’s budget plan.
The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs has revealed that the budget for 2026 will be set at 6 trillion 658.2 billion won, a 3.3% increase from this year. This includes measures to strengthen the recognition of living patriots and address gaps in veteran support.
According to the budget plan, the special honor payments for living patriots will be doubled to a maximum of 3.45 million won per month. Additionally, compensation for national veterans and the war participation honor allowance will also see increases.
To address compensation disparities among veterans, the benefits for those with lower compensation levels, such as the seventh-grade injury compensation and allowances for the children of military personnel who died during the Korean War, will also be raised in part.
Furthermore, the Ministry plans to introduce “semi-veteran hospitals” that would provide medical services equivalent to veteran hospitals in areas like Gangwon and Jeju, where such facilities are currently absent. They also plan to conduct a feasibility study for establishing a Memorial Hall in the South Chungcheong region, which currently lacks such facilities.