Government legislation ministry says no veteran check needed for exhumed remains

The government legislation ministry said that local officials do not need to verify whether human remains discovered during the exhumation of a grave belong to a state merit recipient.

Under the Act on Funeral Services, etc., mayors and other local chiefs must normally confirm if an unclaimed body belongs to a state merit recipient before proceeding with funeral rites so eligible individuals receive proper honors. The ministry explained that this obligation applies only to bodies that have not yet undergone funeral procedures, noting that remains discovered while opening an existing grave have already completed the burial process.

While local governments handle completely unclaimed bodies, the act designates landowners or grave installers as the parties responsible for managing exhumations on private land. The ministry noted that assigning the verification duty to local officials in these cases would contradict the law's structure, which places the processing responsibility on private individuals rather than the state.

This interpretation also aligns with Article 28 of the act, which authorizes provincial governors to process unmarked graves found during surveys but includes no separate provision requiring a prior check for state merit recipients.