▲ A bust of late Army Lt. Col. Kim Oh-rang, erected near the elementary school he went to in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province, about 330 kilometers south of Seoul, is seen in this photo taken June 23, 2026. (Yonhap)

late soldier-posthumous award

Late Army officer killed in 1979 coup to be posthumously awarded top military honor

SEOUL, June 23 (Yonhap) -- A late Army officer who was killed while fighting rebelling forces during a 1979 military coup will be posthumously awarded the top military honor, the veterans ministry said Tuesday.

Lt. Col. Kim Oh-rang will be conferred the Order of Military Merit for defending his commander against mutineers during the Dec. 12, 1979, military coup led by then Maj. Gen. Chun Doo-hwan, the ministry said.

Chun eventually seized power in the 1979 coup and became president the next year.

The decision, approved at a Cabinet meeting earlier in the day, came after the government canceled the Order of National Security Merit previously awarded to Kim in March this year so as to honor him with the highest level of respect befitting his sacrifice.

In 2022, the defense ministry reclassified Kim's death as "killed in action," changing the previous status of "died in line of duty."

Under military law, service members are defined as being killed in action if they die during hostile engagement or while suppressing armed rebellions.

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