Oh Se-hoon meets young wounded veterans, pledges support beyond discharge

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon pledged Wednesday to look after wounded service members not only through their treatment and recovery but through their lives after discharge.

A day before Armed Forces Day, Oh held a meeting Wednesday morning with five young wounded veterans at the Garden of Gratitude in Gwanghwamun Square, listening to the difficulties they faced in treatment, national merit registration, employment, housing and other aspects of reintegrating into civilian life.

Oh had earlier posted on his SNS account Thursday calling for a thorough probe into a recent landmine explosion in the Demilitarized Zone that injured several service members, offering words of comfort to their families and urging that the soldiers receive proper safety measures, treatment and veterans' benefits. Wednesday's meeting was organized to ensure that young people injured in service to the country are not left to navigate the road to recovery alone, and to take responsibility for their lives after discharge.

The meeting reviewed the progress of the Seoul Metropolitan Government Youth Wounded Veterans Counseling Center — the first of its kind operated by any local government in the country — and gave participants a direct opportunity to share the challenges and support needs they encountered during treatment, veterans' benefits processing and social reintegration. Seoul opened the center in March 2022, the first local government in the country to do so, and has since provided tailored support for each veteran's return to civilian life, covering legal consultations for national merit registration, psychological recovery and employment and startup assistance.

The center helps young veterans who struggle to prove the causal link between their accidents and injuries for national merit registration, or who have difficulty preparing application documents. It also supports appeals and litigation over registration and rating decisions, and offers psychological counseling, peer support groups and connections to employment and startup programs.

The city also continues to provide housing support through dedicated rental units for young wounded veterans. Young wounded veterans are included as priority recipients in the city's program covering real estate brokerage fees and moving costs for youth, easing their housing burden. As of last month, the center had handled 676 cases of legal support and conducted 126 sessions of psychological support, including individual counseling and peer group meetings.

Oh had visited the dedicated rental housing units in March on the Day of West Sea Defense, meeting with residents and pledging to strengthen support for wounded veterans' social activities and improve the recognition they receive.

Based on the feedback gathered Wednesday, the city plans to strengthen the counseling center's functions and existing support programs, and will pursue both city-level policy improvements and recommendations to the central government to ensure that recognition of wounded service members extends beyond treatment and national merit registration to stable reintegration into society.

Before the meeting, Oh and the young wounded veterans toured Freedom Hall, an underground media exhibition space at the Garden of Gratitude, and Light of Gratitude 23, an above-ground symbolic sculpture. The Garden of Gratitude in Gwanghwamun Square is a space dedicated to honoring the sacrifice of Korean War veterans and the nations that fought alongside Korea, and to reflecting on the values of freedom and peace.

"Caring for the treatment, recovery and post-discharge lives of service members injured while defending the country is the proper recognition their dedication deserves," Oh said. "So that these young wounded veterans are not left alone on the road to recovery, we will continue to provide comprehensive support — from national merit registration to housing and employment — based on the voices we heard today."