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Busan Metropolitan City Allocates KRW 41 Billion for Patriots and Veterans Affairs: Announces 2026 Veterans Policy for Busan

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Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) announced today (29th) that it will hold the “Communicative and Warm Veterans Policy Talk Concert” at 3:00 p.m. in the grand conference room on the first floor of City Hall to share and announce its 2026 veterans policy to citizens.

This event was designed as a venue where Mayor Park, veterans of national merit and their bereaved families, and citizens participate directly—moving beyond a one-way, administration-centered announcement format—to empathize with and communicate about policy directions together.

In particular, as an “empathy-driven policy event” bringing together multiple generations, it is expected to serve as an opportunity to expand veterans affairs as a community value that connects the present and the future, rather than remaining solely as a memory of the past.

Through this talk concert, Busan Metropolitan City will announce its 2026 veterans support policy under the vision, “Busan where remembrance and respect, and love for the country permeate everyday life.”

Busan Metropolitan City has designated 2026 as the “First Year of Busan Veterans Affairs” and has drawn up a veterans affairs budget of KRW 41 billion, a substantial increase from the previous year. The policy will be 추진 under three major strategies and 21 detailed projects: (1) repaying with veterans support at a higher level, (2) remembering the values of veterans affairs and peace, and (3) expanding a veterans culture in which everyone participates.

Under the policy of “Repaying with Veterans Support at a Higher Level,” Busan Metropolitan City will significantly strengthen compensation and welfare to tangibly improve the quality of life for veterans beneficiaries.

Eligibility for the Veterans Honor Allowance will be newly expanded to include recipients of the Orders of Military Merit and National Security Merit, wounded and injured veterans, and those of merit related to the May 18 Democratic Uprising, increasing the number of eligible recipients from 3,800 to 11,422.

To strengthen recognition for elderly veterans of war participation, the Participation in War Honor Allowance will be differentiated: it will be increased to KRW 150,000 per month for those aged 90 and older, while the KRW 130,000 per month level will be maintained for those aged 65 to under 90.

For medical expense support for bereaved families of independence activists, support will continue for spouses even after the death of the first-priority bereaved family member, and designated hospitals will be expanded from 8 to 16—one in each district and county—to enhance convenience.

Through the policy of “Remembering the Values of Veterans Affairs and Peace,” Busan Metropolitan City will carry on Busan’s spirit of independence and national defense and elevate its status as an international city of peace.

The Busan Independence Movement Memorial Hall, currently being built in Busan Citizens Park, will open in the first half of 2027 as a hands-on historical education space for citizens. In addition, memorial facilities will be improved—such as opening an access road to the Loyal Spirits Tower—to create a dignified environment for remembrance.

The “Turn Toward Busan, International Memorial Day for United Nations Forces Veterans” event will be promoted as a citizen-participatory program, and historical tours of memorial facilities for middle and high school students will be expanded to strengthen veterans education for future generations and to carry on the spirit of the independence movement and love for the country.

Through the policy of “Expanding a Veterans Culture in Which Everyone Participates,” Busan Metropolitan City will foster a warm culture of veterans support that can be experienced in everyday life.

Through the Busan Liberation Expedition, in which descendants of independence activists and citizens participate together, participatory veterans affairs will be spread into daily life. The City will also increase priority parking zones for veterans of national merit to establish everyday recognition and respect, and expand protocol support for veterans’ funerals to ensure honor through the final moments of heroes who sacrificed for the nation. In addition, cultural and welfare programs using veterans halls will be operated to help prevent social isolation among elderly veterans beneficiaries.

Moreover, Busan Metropolitan City will continue to hold citizen-participatory events such as the policy talk concert to realize veterans affairs grounded in intergenerational empathy and communication.

This is a Busan-style implementation model that concretizes the government’s four core veterans policy strategies—(1) veterans compensation commensurate with sacrifice and dedication, (2) medical and welfare services that safeguard a healthy life, (3) a veterans culture remembered together with the people, and (4) future veterans affairs that advances through innovation—tailored to local conditions.

Mayor Park Heong-joon said, “Busan’s 2026 veterans policy focuses on substantive recognition and respect for veterans beneficiaries and on expanding a veterans culture that resonates with citizens, under the principle that ‘extraordinary sacrifice deserves extraordinary compensation.’” He added, “We will do our utmost so that veterans affairs becomes an everyday value for all citizens, beyond being the memory of a particular generation.”