Seoul, March 24 – The South Korean government revoked national orders of military merit awarded to 10 military officers involved in a military coup in 1979, led by the late former President Chun Doo-hwan, the defense ministry said on Tuesday.
According to the ministry, under a motion approved in a Cabinet meeting earlier in the day, the Chungmu Order of Military Merit awards for the 10 individuals who played key roles in the military coup led by then Maj. Gen. Chun on December 12, 1979, have been cancelled.
Chun, who died in 2021, seized power in the 1979 coup and became president the following year.
"The measure is aimed at defending constitutional values by revoking the military merit orders that were unlawfully and unfairly awarded to people who played major roles in the December 12 military coup," the ministry said in a statement.
The government had earlier revoked national orders awarded to 13 military officers involved in the 1979 coup, who were sentenced to three or more years in prison, but others had kept their orders as their cases did not meet the requirements for revocation despite criticism over their actions, according to Yonhap news agency.
The ministry stated that it pushed for the revocation after verifying that their service did not meet the conditions for receiving national military orders, adding that it will continue to take such measures going forward to ensure the honour and fairness of national orders.
It is reportedly in the process of seeking to revoke military orders presented to three other military officers involved in the 1979 coup.