Visits 171st Infantry Brigade in Icheon, delivers comfort money
Outlines support plans including new indemnity insurance for young discharged troops
Ahead of the Chuseok holiday, Kwon Oh-eul, minister of Patriots and Veterans, visited the Army's 171st Infantry Brigade under the 55th Infantry Division to comfort troops and personally introduce support policies for discharged service members.
Kwon visited the Army's 171st Infantry Brigade stationed in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, Wednesday morning, delivering comfort money and spending time talking with soldiers.
The 171st Infantry Brigade is a unit under the 55th Infantry Division of the Ground Operations Command. It is responsible for security in southeastern Gyeonggi Province through joint civilian-government-military defense operations in emergencies, and for protecting local residents' safety during disasters.
The brigade has recently strengthened its integrated defense readiness through field-training exercises with local governments, police and fire authorities during the Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) exercise, along with reserve forces operational drills.
Starting in the second half of next year, the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans will introduce group indemnity insurance for young discharged service members, including active-duty soldiers and full-time reservists. The coverage, equivalent to fifth-generation private indemnity insurance, is intended to let discharged troops receive treatment without bearing medical costs for 18 months after their discharge.
The ministry is also addressing the problem of young people being excluded from youth policy benefits because of their military service. It is pushing for legislative changes to extend the age limit for youth policies by the length of mandatory service. For recruitment exams that carry age caps, the ministry has already extended the limit by up to three years for discharged service members. It plans to expand this approach across youth policies overall, including housing and financial support.
A policy requiring public-sector employers to factor military service into pay grades and wages is also set to take effect in February 2027.
"I deeply appreciate the dedication of the soldiers serving on the front lines of national defense," Kwon said, adding, "The government will steadily push forward with substantive veterans support measures so that young discharged service members can confidently return to society after their discharge."
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