On December 15, the Ministry of National Defense held a joint enshrinement ceremony for 141 remains of Korean War soldiers excavated in 2025 at the Seoul National Cemetery, presided over by Prime Minister Kim Min-seok. The ceremony was attended by key figures including the Prime Minister, the Minister of National Defense, the Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs, the Chiefs of Staff of the Army, Navy, and Air Force, the Marine Corps Commander, and the Acting Commissioner of the National Police Agency.
The joint enshrinement ceremony temporarily enshrines unidentified remains until their families are found. This year, 141 remains were excavated but have not yet been identified. The 2025 excavation took place from March to the end of November in 34 areas, including Cheorwon and Inje in Gangwon Province, Paju, Pocheon, and Yeoncheon in Gyeonggi Province, and Chilgok and Pohang in North Gyeongsang Province.
Despite difficult conditions, the Ministry of National Defense’s excavation team and soldiers from 30 battalion-level units recovered 141 remains. The excavation of Baekma Hill in the Demilitarized Zone, which was suspended in 2022, was resumed, recovering 25 remains. After the joint enshrinement ceremony, the unidentified remains will be stored at the Ministry of National Defense’s excavation team storage facility.
The Korean War remains excavation project began in 2000 as part of the 50th anniversary of the Korean War, and to date, 11,000 remains have been recovered. The Ministry of National Defense plans to strengthen public campaigns to encourage families to participate in DNA sampling and solidify the civil-military cooperation system.