The Korean “Awards Act” 상훈법, also translated as the “Decorations Act”, states that a person can get a replacement medal. Specifically:
Article 36 (Re-issuance of medals and decorations)
① If a person who has received a Order or Merit Medal loses or damages it, he/she may have it re-issued for a fee as prescribed by Presidential Decree.
② Matters necessary for the re-issuance of medals and decorations shall be determined by Presidential Decree.
The last part of subsection ② states “… shall be determined by Presidential Decree”. The Presidential Decree that it refers to is the Enforcement Decree of the Awards and Honors Act. Within this decree, Article 31 (Re-issuance of medals or awards and issuance of award certificates) has the Legal Statutes that are involved in the process for getting a medal replaced.
Article 31 has some interesting subsections:
Subsection ②, states: “A person who wishes to receive a scaled-down Order or scaled-down Merit Medal pursuant to Article 14 shall …”. However if you refer to Article 14 (Reduction of medals and decorations), Subsection ①, it states: “Medals and decorations may be reduced to one-half of their original size if necessary. However, the full size of the 1st and 2nd class Orders (including the 3rd class Order of Merit for National Foundation) in major or medium length cannot be reduced.” By “major or medium length” they are referring to Sashes and Cravats. So awards on a breast ribbon can be reduced but not Orders on a sash or cravat. There is a caveat involving Breast Stars. There are occasions, such as formal dinners, where generals, diplomats, etc. need to wear their awards. However, for these occasions, full size awards may not be appropriate. On these occasions miniature breast stars are available, but I cannot find any legal statute authorizing them. (You can find miniature breast stars, but miniatures of a sashed or cravated award are rare.) Article 25 in the same legislation states that if a person has received more than one Order on a sash and/or cravat, they should wear the most prestigious award and only wear the breast star(s) for the other award(s). It does not address what to wear if the other award(s) are 3rd Class awards which do not have breast stars.
Subsection ③ states that the cost of the replacement shall be the responsibility of the applicant. However, it goes on to state that the cost may be waived for important foreigners. From this, I gather that any foreigner can request replacement medals.
Subsection ④ states that Order or Merit Medal award documents will not be reissued. However, if necessary, the Minister of the Interior and Safety may issue a certificate of award of an Order or Merit Medal upon application by the person, his or her surviving family member, or his or her representative. In other words, you cannot get a copy of the original award document, but you can get a document that says you were issued a specific award.
The Korean government has set up a webpage for starting the application process. If you have a program on your computer, such as Simple Translate, you can translate the page into English. You can have your Korean Awards or the Korean Awards of deceased family members replaced, but I am not sure how the process works for Non-Koreans.
For an earlier example of the replacement process, see my webpage on Serial Numbers.
The following is the original text of Article 14 and Article 31 from the Enforcement Decree of the Awards and Honors Act [Enforcement on March 11, 2020] [Presidential Decree No. 30517, March 10, 2020, partially revised]
( Couple of hints for translating: 훈장 means Order, not medal, 포장 means Merit Medal, not packaging, 약장(略章) means Ribbon Bar or Miniature Medal not medicine cabinet and 훈장 또는 포장 means Orders and Merit Medals not medals and decorations.)
I have an English translation lower on the page.
상훈법 시행령 [시행 2020. 3. 11.] [대통령령 제30517호, 2020. 3. 10., 일부개정]:
제14조(훈장 및 포장의 축소)
① 훈장 및 포장은 필요에 따라 원형의 2분의 1로 축소할 수 있다. 다만, 대수 또는 중수(中綬)로 된 1등급ㆍ2등급 훈장(건국훈장 3등급을 포함한다)의 정장(正章)은 축소할 수 없다.
② 3등급 훈장(건국훈장 3등급은 제외한다)을 축소할 때에는 제25조제3항에 따른다.
③ 약장(略章)을 축소할 때에는 원형의 2분의 1로 한다.
[전문개정 2013. 1. 16.]
제31조(훈장 또는 포장의 재교부 및 수여증명서 발급)
① 법 제36조제1항에 따라 훈장 또는 포장을 다시 교부받으려는 사람은 별지 제6호서식의 신청서(전자문서로 된 신청서를 포함한다)에 다음 각 호의 구분에 따른 서류를 첨부하여 행정안전부장관에게 제출하여야 한다. <개정 2016. 11. 22., 2017. 7. 26.>
1. 훈장 또는 포장을 받은 본인이 신청하는 경우: 본인의 신분증 사본 1부
2. 훈장 또는 포장을 받은 사람의 유족이 신청하는 경우
가. 신청인의 신분증 사본 1부
나. 훈장 또는 포장을 받은 사람의 제적등본 1부
3. 훈장 또는 포장을 받은 사람의 대리인이 신청하는 경우
가. 위임장 1부
나. 훈장 또는 포장을 받은 사람의 신분증 사본 1부
다. 대리인의 신분증 사본 1부
② 제14조에 따른 축소훈장 또는 축소포장을 받으려는 사람은 별지 제6호서식의 신청서(전자문서로 된 신청서를 포함한다)에 제1항 각 호의 구분에 따른 서류를 첨부하여 행정안전부장관에게 제출하여야 한다. <신설 2016. 11. 22., 2017. 7. 26.>
③ 제1항 및 제2항에 따른 훈장 또는 포장의 제작비는 신청인이 부담하며, 행정안전부장관이 지정하는 제작업자에게 직접 내야 한다. 다만, 대통령, 외국 원수(元首) 및 배우자와 외국인인 경우 또는 행정안전부장관이 필요하다고 인정하는 경우에는 제작비를 국고에서 부담할 수 있다. <개정 2013. 3. 23., 2014. 11. 19., 2016. 11. 22., 2017. 7. 26.>
④ 훈장증 또는 포장증은 다시 발급하지 아니한다. 다만, 행정안전부장관은 필요한 경우 본인, 유족 또는 대리인의 신청에 의하여 훈장 또는 포장의 수여증명서를 발급할 수 있다. <개정 2013. 3. 23., 2014. 11. 19., 2016. 11. 22., 2017. 7. 26.>
⑤ 제4항에 따라 훈장 또는 포장의 수여증명서를 발급받으려는 사람은 별지 제7호서식의 신청서(전자문서로 된 신청서를 포함한다)에 제1항 각 호의 구분에 따른 서류를 첨부하여 행정안전부장관에게 제출하여야 한다. <개정 2013. 3. 23., 2014. 11. 19., 2016. 11. 22., 2017. 7. 26.>
⑥ 제5항의 신청을 받은 행정안전부장관은 훈장 또는 포장의 수여 사실을 확인한 후 신청일부터 7일 이내에 신청인에게 별지 제8호서식의 수여증명서를 발급하여야 한다. <개정 2013. 3. 23., 2014. 11. 19., 2016. 11. 22., 2017. 7. 26.>
[전문개정 2013. 1. 16.]
The same legislation translated into English
Enforcement Decree of the Awards and Honors Act [Enforcement on March 11, 2020] [Presidential Decree No. 30517, March 10, 2020, partially revised]:
Article 14 (Reduction of decorations and decorations)
① Orders and Merit Medals may be reduced to one-half of their original size, if necessary. However, the full size of the 1st and 2nd class medals (including the 3rd class Order of Merit for National Foundation) in major or medium length cannot be reduced.
② When reducing the level 3 medal (excluding the level 3 Order of Merit for National Foundation), Article 25 (3) shall apply.
③ When reducing the size of the miniature medals, it should be one-half of the original size.
[Full revision 2013. 1. 16.]
Article 31 (Re-issuance of medals or awards and issuance of award certificates)
① A person who wishes to receive a medal or award again pursuant to Article 36 (1) of the Act must submit an application in Form No. 6 (including applications in electronic documents). Documents according to the following categories must be attached and submitted to the Minister of the Interior and Safety. <Amended 2016. 11. 22., 2017. 7. 26.>
- If the person who received the Order of Merit Medal applies: 1 copy of the person’s ID card
- When applied by the surviving family of a person who received a Order of Merit Medal
- One copy of applicant’s ID card
- A copy of the personal register of the person who received the Order of Merit Medal
- When an application is made by a representative of the person who received the Order of Merit Medal
- One copy of power of attorney
- One copy of the ID card of the person who received the Order of Merit Medal
- One copy of agent’s ID card
② A person who wishes to receive a scaled-down medal or scaled package pursuant to Article 14 must submit an application in Form No. 6 (including applications in electronic form) to the Minister of Public Administration and Security, along with documents according to the categories in each subparagraph of Paragraph 1. Do it. <Newly established 2016. 11. 22., 2017. 7. 26.>
③ The cost of producing medals or packaging under paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be borne by the applicant and paid directly to the manufacturer designated by the Minister of the Interior and Safety. However, in the case of the President, foreign heads of state, spouses, and foreigners, or if the Minister of the Interior and Safety deems it necessary, production costs may be borne by the national treasury. <Amended 2013. 3. 23., 2014. 11. 19., 2016. 11. 22., 2017. 7. 26.>
④ Orders or Merit Medal award documents will not be reissued. However, if necessary, the Minister of the Interior and Safety may issue a certificate of award of a medal or medal upon application by the person, his or her surviving family member, or his or her representative. <Amended 2013. 3. 23., 2014. 11. 19., 2016. 11. 22., 2017. 7. 26.>
⑤ A person who wishes to be issued a certificate of awarding a Order of Merit Medal pursuant to paragraph 4 must attach documents according to each category of paragraph 1 to the application in Form No. 7 (including applications in electronic documents) and submit it to the Minister of Public Administration and Security. It must be submitted to. <Amended 2013. 3. 23., 2014. 11. 19., 2016. 11. 22., 2017. 7. 26.>
⑥ The Minister of the Interior and Safety, who has received the application under paragraph 5, shall confirm the award of the Order of Merit Medal and issue a certificate of award in the form of Appendix 8 to the applicant within 7 days from the date of application. <Amended 2013. 3. 23., 2014. 11. 19., 2016. 11. 22., 2017. 7. 26.>
[Full revision 2013. 1. 16.]