Briefing Session Held for the 15th Round of Decorations Applications 

A briefing session for the 15th round of decorations applications for 710 independence patriots, jointly hosted by the Korea Liberation Association (President: Jong-chan Lee) and Incheon National University (President: In-jae Lee), was held on February 26 at 2:00 p.m. in the multipurpose room of the Mirae Building at Incheon National University.

In his opening remarks, President In-jae Lee stated, “Over the past eight years, more than 6,000 independence patriots have been identified and recommended for state decorations thanks to the dedicated efforts of the director and researchers of the Institute for the History of the Independence Movement at our university. We will continue to do our best to discover additional independence patriots and submit decoration applications.”

Representing the families of independence patriots, Gi-bong Kim—grandson of Sang-yun Kim, deputy leader of the Korean Patriotic Corps (Uiyeoldan), and former head of the Seoul branch of the Korea Liberation Association—remarked in his congratulatory address, “Identifying independence patriots is one of the most urgent national tasks, and universities, research institutes, and the government must actively participate in this effort.”

Yong-gyu Choi, former chairman of the board of Incheon National University, also praised the efforts of the university’s Institute for the History of the Independence Movement, stating that its work in identifying independence patriots and applying for decorations through fifteen rounds is truly remarkable.

Approximately 20 descendants of independence patriots attended the event, including Yoo-heon Jung, president of the Association of Descendants of the 33 National Representatives of the March 1st Movement; Ho-jun Lee, head of the Yeondang Lee Gap-seong Education and Culture Foundation; and Yong-geon Hwang, director of the Ungang Lee Gang-nyeon Memorial Hall.

During the briefing session, Tae-ryong Lee, director of the Institute for the History of the Independence Movement at Incheon National University, provided an overview of the decoration application process. He highlighted notable figures among those recommended for recognition, including Dong-hong Lee, an independence activist from Seocheon, Chungcheongnam-do, who was wounded by gunfire and arrested during a March 1919 protest at Masan-myeon Market in Seocheon County and later endured five years of imprisonment. Another example is Gyeong-hwan Kim, a monk from Yangsan, Gyeongsangnam-do, who participated in the March 31 independence demonstration at Haeinsa Temple in 1919 and was sentenced to six months in prison by the Gimcheon branch of the Daegu District Court. After his release, he was arrested again and imprisoned for one year and six months for raising funds for the independence movement at temples including Geumryongsa, Daeseungsa, and Gounsa.

Since 2019, the Institute for the History of the Independence Movement at Incheon National University has submitted decoration applications for a total of 6,191 independence patriots across fifteen rounds to the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs.