Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs

The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs (MPVA; Korean: 국가보훈부; Hanja: 國家報勳部) is a ministry under the Government of South Korea which manages affairs relating to veterans. It was established in August 1961 as the Veterans Affairs Agency.

Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs

국가보훈부 國家報勳部 Gukga Bohun-bu
MPVA headquarters in Sejong
Agency overview
Formed	5 June 2023; 17 months ago (2023-06-05)
Preceding agencies	Veterans Affairs Agency (1961-1984) Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs (non-State Council member ministry) (1985-2023)
Jurisdiction	Government of South Korea
Headquarters	Sejong City
Minister responsible	Kang Jung-ai
Deputy Minister responsible	Lee Hee-wan, deputy secretary
Website	www.mpva.go.kr

List of ministers

List of ministers^[1]

No.	Minister	Period
1st	Min Byong-kwon	6 July 1961 – 31 January 1963
2nd	Yoon Young-mo	1 February 1963 - 10 May 1964
3rd	Kim Byung-sam	11 May 1964 – 15 May 1965
4th	Park Ki-suk	16 May 1965 – 21 December 1970
5th	Chang Dong-won	22 December 1970 – 18 October 1973
6th	Yoo Kun-chang	19 October 1973 – 20 December 1977
7th	Kim Jae-myong	21 December 1977 – 22 May 1980
8th	Lee Jong-ho	23 May 1980 – 15 October 1983
9th	Cho Chul-kwon	16 October 1983 – 18 February 1985
10th	Choi Jong-ho	19 February 1985 – 7 January 1986
11th	Kim Keun-soo	8 January 1986 – 24 February 1988
12th	Jun Suk-hong	25 February 1988 – 5 December 1988
13th	Lee Sang-yeon	6 December 1988 – 26 December 1990
14th	Min Gyung-bae	27 December 1990 – 25 February 1993
15th	Rhee Byoung-tae	26 February 1993 – 21 December 1993
16th	Lee Chung-kil	22 December 1993 – 23 December 1994
17th	Hwang Chang-pyeong	24 December 1994 – 19 December 1996
18th	Oh Jung-so	20 December 1996 – 5 March 1997
19th	Park Sang-bum	6 March 1997 – 3 March 1998
20th	Kim Eui-jae	9 March 1998 – 2 March 1999
21st	Choi Kyu-hak	6 March 1999 – 28 August 2000
22nd	Kim Yoo-bae	29 August 2000 – 1 April 2001
23rd	Lee Jae-dal	2 April 2001 – 2 March 2003
24th	An Joo-seob	3 March 2003 – 23 September 2004
25th	Park Yu-chul	24 September 2004 – 19 April 2007
26th	Kim Jung-bok	20 April 2007 – 28 February 2008
27th	Kim Yang [ko]	3 March 2009 – 23 February 2011
28th	Park sung-choon	24 February 2011 – 11 May 2017
29th	Pi Woo-jin	17 May 2017 – 15 August 2019
30th	Park Sam-duk	16 August 2019 – 30 December 2020
31st	Hwang Ki-chul	31 December 2020 – 12 May 2022
32nd	Park Min-shik	12 May 2022 – 26 December 2023
33nd	Kang Jung-ai	26 December 2023 - incumbent

Timeline

• 5 July 1961 – Act for Establishment of Military Relief Administration enacted^[2]
• 12 May 1962 – Veterans Office Military Relief Office was renamed to Veterans Office, and branch office became regional offices, and 25 local agencies were upgraded to district offices
• 1 January 1985 – Veterans Affairs Agency became Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs, regional offices became regional veterans offices or branch veterans offices, and Veterans Committee 4.19 Cemetery Management Office was created
• 19 February 1993 – The posts of Director-Generals of Veterans Policy and Veterans Promotion were created
• 28 January 1995 – 4.19 Cemetery Management Office was created
• 14 September 2002 – City-administered 5.18 cemetery Office and 3.15 cemetery Office were transferred to MPVA and two cemeteries’ level was elevated to national cemetery from municipal cemetery
• 24 May 2004 – The Veterans Bureau was newly established to help veterans make a smoother transition to civilian life
• 18 May 2005 – The Independence Hall was transferred to MPVA from Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism
• 26 January 2006 – The Daejeon National Cemetery was transferred to MPVA from Ministry of Defense
• 14 January 2007 – Veterans Centers in Seoul, Busan, Daejeon were created
• 7 July 2011 – Veterans Center in Gyeonggi Province was created
• 28 July 2017 – The status of the MPVA Minister was elevated from vice-ministerial to ministerial level
• 5 June 2023 – The status of the MPVA Minister was elevated to a full member of State Council of the Republic of Korea from its attendee. The MPVA's Korean name is changed to 국가보훈부 from 국가보훈처. ^{[3][4] [5]}

See also

• Ministries of South Korea

References

1. "Ministers in History".
2. "History of MPVA > Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs". english.mpva.go.kr. Retrieved 2018-05-03.
3. https://www.korea.net/NewsFocus/Korea_in_photos/view?articleId=233673 Archived November 15, 2023, at the Wayback Machine
4. https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2023/11/113_346419.html Archived November 15, 2023, at the Wayback Machine
5. https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20230605002551325 Archived June 5, 2023, at the Wayback Machine

External links

• Korean homepage
• English homepage