Lee says peace mission honors South Korea’s West Sea dead
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung (3-R) offers a silent prayer at a national cemetery in Daejeon, South Korea, 27 March 2026, during a ceremony to mark the 11th anniversary of the commemoration day for 55 troops who died in three major clashes with North Korea in the West Sea, comprising an inter-Korean naval skirmish in 2002, North Korea’s torpedo attack on the corvette Cheonan in 2010 and its shelling of the border island of Yeonpyeong in the same year. Since 2016, the government has designated the fourth Friday of March as the commemoration day, known as the West Sea Defense Day. Photo by YONHAP / EPA
March 27 (Asia Today) — President Lee Jae-myung said Friday that building a peaceful Korean Peninsula while maintaining a strong defense is the historic mission left behind by South Korea’s fallen West Sea heroes.
Speaking at the 11th West Sea Defense Day ceremony at Daejeon National Cemetery, Lee said the 55 service members honored each year had protected not only a maritime boundary, but also the everyday peace South Koreans enjoy and the future their descendants deserve.
“Our task is to firmly protect our people and the territory of the Republic of Korea with strong national defense capabilities, while also building a peaceful Korean Peninsula free from the worries of war and hostility,” Lee said.
He said the waters defended by the fallen should no longer remain a symbol of conflict, but be turned into “a foundation of peace and prosperity.”
“Peace is our livelihood, and peace is the greatest security,” Lee said. “Winning a fight matters, but winning without fighting matters even more. More important still is a peace in which there is no need to fight.”
Lee said his government would work to end the legacy of confrontation and tension in the West Sea and open a new chapter of shared growth and prosperity.
He also paid tribute to the bereaved families, saying the government would remember the dead, preserve their record and honor them properly.
Lee said his administration was trying to close gaps in veterans support under the principle that special sacrifice deserves special compensation.
Beginning in May, spouses of financially struggling war veterans will receive monthly living support payments, he said.
Lee also said the government plans to expand the number of designated veterans medical institutions nationwide to 2,000 by 2030 so national meritorious persons can receive treatment more easily at nearby hospitals.
He said mandatory military service should be recognized as a legitimate social asset so former service members can take pride in their time in uniform.
To that end, Lee said the public sector will be required to count mandatory service periods when calculating pay grades and wages for discharged veterans.
West Sea Defense Day is a national commemoration honoring those killed in the Second Battle of Yeonpyeong on June 29, 2002, the sinking of the Cheonan on March 26, 2010, and the shelling of Yeonpyeong Island on Nov. 23, 2010.
Before the ceremony, Lee and first lady Kim Hye-kyung paid respects at the graves of those killed in the Second Battle of Yeonpyeong, the Yeonpyeong shelling, the 46 sailors killed in the Cheonan sinking and the late warrant officer Han Ju-ho.
— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI
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Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260327010008430