Page 287 - 2018 Defense White Paper

3. Reinforcing Privileges and Compensation for Military Service

| Recovering Korean War Remains 48) | In 2007, the MND founded the MND Agency for
Killed in Action Recovery and Identif ication (MAKRI), a special organization dedicated to

recovering the remains of troops killed during the Korean War, paying tribute to these brave men
who had sacrif iced their lives for the country, all the while elevating their honor and addressing
the bereaved families’ long-held wishes. Approximately 200 personnel are working in 5 divisions,

including planning, investigation, recovery, identif ication, and international cooperation, with a
total of eight recovery teams in action.
By 2018, a total of 11,551 sets 49) of human remains were recovered, while DNA samples

were taken from 44,428 bereaved family members. By additionally confirming the identities of
KIAs, 131 sets of remains have been returned to bereaved families. To recover more remains
while Korean War veterans and bereaved families are still alive, the MND has reinforced the
organization and personnel, and is carrying out a systematic recovery project under the “Five-

Year Plan for the Recovery of Remains.”

[ Chart 6-16 ] Remains Recovery Status by Year
(As of the end of December 2018; unit: no. of sets)
2000–
Year Total 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
2008
Remains
11,551 2,875 1,284 1,440 1,387 1,041 736 913 622 429 448 376
recovered
Chapter 6
Korean
military
personnel 10,204 2,233 1,143 1,328 1,300 989 671 809 561 387 420 362
and police
officers

* Cumulative total of remains discovered: 11,511 sets in total (10,204 from Korean military personnel and police officers, 18 from United Nations
Force members, and 1,329 from the enemy); includes 65 bodies of Korean military personnel returned by the U.S. Defense Prisoner of War /
Missing in Action Accounting Agency(DPAA)

48) A national project to search for the unfound remains of about 130,000 troops
who died during the Korean War to return them to their bereaved families.
49) 10,204 from ROK Armed Forces and police officers, 18 from UN Command,
725 from Korean People’s Army, and 604 from China People’s Volunteer Army Remains of Korean KIAs
in Hawaii returned to the home
(PVA). country after 68 years

Section 6 Reinforcing Support for Discharged and Retiring Servicemembers, and Privileges for War Veterans 285