The Ministry of National Defense announced that a joint enshrinement ceremony for 141 remains of Korean War soldiers discovered this year was held at the Seoul National Cemetery on the morning of the 15th, presided over by Prime Minister Kim Min-seok. The ceremony was attended by key figures including the Minister of National Defense, the Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs, the Chiefs of Staff of the Army, Navy, and Air Force, the Commandant of the Marine Corps, and the Acting Commissioner of the National Police Agency, along with veterans’ association president Shin Sang-tae and soldiers who participated in the excavation.
The joint enshrinement ceremony is a temporary event to enshrine remains whose identities have not yet been confirmed until their families are found. The 141 remains discovered this year are still unidentified. The Korean War remains excavation project began in 2000 as part of the 50th anniversary commemoration of the Korean War, and to date, a total of over 11,000 remains of Korean soldiers have been recovered.
In 2020, the Ministry of National Defense expanded and reorganized the remains excavation and identification team, and in 2021, they opened an identification center dedicated to all processes of storage, examination, and DNA analysis to improve efficiency. This year’s excavation took place from March to the end of November in 34 battle sites of the Korean War, including Cheorwon and Inje in Gangwon Province, Paju, Pocheon, and Yeoncheon in Gyeonggi Province, and Chilgok and Pohang in North Gyeongsang Province.
After the joint enshrinement ceremony, the unidentified remains of the 141 soldiers will be stored in the remains storage facility of the Ministry of National Defense’s excavation and identification team, and will be returned to their families after DNA analysis and identification procedures. The Ministry of National Defense plans to strengthen the civil-military cooperation system, integrate efforts from related ministries and local governments, and enhance public campaigns to encourage more families to participate in DNA sampling, aiming to increase the identification rate of Korean War remains.