Sanaa:The veterans ministry has proposed that local governments increase the compensation for veterans of the Korean and Vietnam Wars to address regional discrepancies in payouts.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the ministry's guidelines suggest that basic local governments and metropolitan governments should incrementally raise their monthly payments to 119,000 won (approximately US$88.97) and 109,000 won, respectively, by early 2029.
Currently, the veterans ministry provides a monthly compensation of 490,000 won for veterans over the age of 70 who served in these wars. However, additional allowances from local governments vary widely, with Jeonju and Jeongeup in the southwest offering the lowest amount of 140,000 won, and Hwacheon county in Gangwon Province offering the highest at 660,000 won monthly.
The ministry's recommendations, while not mandatory, aim to raise the minimum combined allowance to 230,000 won, up from the current 140,000 won. This adjustment targets payouts below the bottom 80 percent baseline -- 120,000 won for basic local governments and 110,000 won for metropolitan governments.
If the guidelines are implemented, the national average allowance is expected to increase to 306,000 won from the current 268,000 won.