South Chungcheong Province pursues high-quality veterans policy

South Chungcheong Province will pursue a high-quality veterans policy rooted in the Chungcheong spirit of loyalty, filial piety and courtesy — the first official directive of the province's ninth elected administration. The initiative reflects Gov. Park Soo-hyun's commitment to putting veterans and their families first and incorporating their voices into provincial governance.

The province held its first introductory meeting Friday at the provincial veterans hall in Hongseong-gun, bringing together Gov. Park and the heads of nine veterans organizations — the Independence Hall Association, the Wounded Veterans and Police Association, the Association of Bereaved Families of Fallen Soldiers and Police, the Association of War Widows, the Association of Recipients of Military Merit, the Agent Orange Veterans Association, the Special Mission Veterans Association, the Korean War Veterans Association and the Vietnam War Veterans Association.

At the meeting, Park said veterans affairs is "a remembrance of the past and a warm journey toward the future," adding that the ninth elected administration's vision of "a South Chungcheong Province that connects with its residents" would make honoring veterans and supporting their welfare the top priority of provincial governance, so that veterans and their families can feel a sense of pride.

He then said "the fulfillment of loyalty, filial piety and courtesy is veterans affairs," and pledged to pursue a "high-quality veterans policy" that delivers real, practical benefits to veterans' families — not empty gestures — through constant communication on the ground.

The South Chungcheong Veterans Organizations Council also issued a statement expressing full support for Park's spirit of loyalty, filial piety and courtesy.

The council said it was deeply grateful for the governor's pledge to enshrine the noble Chungcheong values of loyalty, filial piety and courtesy as core principles of provincial governance and to put veterans families first. It added that its member organizations would lead the way in advancing local community development and fostering a spirit of patriotism, in line with that governing philosophy.

Key veterans policy initiatives the province is pursuing include the country's first dedicated card for recipients of national veterans benefits, the elimination of the medical expense support cap for independence merit holders and their bereaved families, and the expansion of the country's highest-level combat honor allowance to cover bereaved families of fallen soldiers and police.