National Police Service Medals 대한민국 경찰근속기장1
1981 SERIES
On July 18, 1981, Presidential Decree #10392 was issued. It authorized: a Police Commander’s Medal, and three Long Service Medals, namely a 10 Year, 20 Year and 30 Year. A 40-year-Long Service Medal was added later in 1986.
Police Commander’s Medal
The Police Commander’s Medal 경찰지휘관장 was established on July 18, 1981, by Presidential Decree #10392. It was awarded to Superintendents and above who head police agencies. The pendant is 62 mm (wingtip to wingtip) by 50 mm and is almost 5 mm thick. The obverse has an eagle2 and laurel leaf design3, which is surrounded by two clasped hands with eight fingers shaped into a shield. There is a scroll above the eagle, which is 31 mm wide x 5.5 mm high. The scroll reads 경찰지휘관 “Police Commander”. The pendant is suspended from the ribbon by one suspension ring, which is 19 mm in diameter.
The reverse side of the medal has: 대한민국경찰관기장 “Republic of Korea Police Service Medal” at the top, 경찰지휘관장 “Police Commander’s Medal” in the center and at the bottom there is the year that the medal was awarded.
The ribbon is 35 mm x 50 mm. The stripe pattern is: Yellow 10 mm, Green 15 mm, and Yellow 10 mm wide. The overall length of the medal is 115 mm long. There are two known ribbon bars which measure 35 mm x 11 mm. The stripe pattern is identical to the ribbon on the medal.
The green plastic case is 3 inches (7.62 cm) wide by 7 inches (17.78 cm) long. The Korean Police emblem is embossed in gold at the top of the case. The gold Korean lettering, below the emblem, reads 성실지휘관 “Police Commander”.
Along with the medal, award recipients are issued a small wallet sized award certificate, approximately 3.5 inches (8.89 cm) wide by 2.5 inches (6.35 cm) high. They are required to carry this card whenever they wear their medal. The card has a control number in the upper left-hand corner. Near top center is 경찰관기장수여증 “Police Officer Medal Award Certificate”. This is followed by several handwritten fields, which are: the name of the award, where the recipient is assigned, his rank, recipient’s full name, date of birth and lastly the date of issue for the award. At the very bottom is 내무부장관 “Ministry of Home Affairs”.
10 Year Service Medal
The “Faithfulness Medal” 성실장 was first established on July 18, 1981, by Presidential Decree, Number 10392. It was awarded to all policemen with ten years of continuous service. The pendant is 42 mm X 48 mm and is 4.5 mm thick. The front has a design of a laurel leaf3, with two dots above it, on top of a 20 mm in diameter disc. The disc is surrounded by two clasped hands with eight fingers shaped into a shield. The pendant is suspended from the ribbon by two suspension rings, with a miniature Korean National Police emblem mounted between the two rings.
The ribbon is 35 mm x 50 mm in size. The stripe pattern is: Red 10 mm, Blue 5 mm, White 5 mm, Blue 5 mm, and Red 10 mm wide.
The back of the medal has the following Korean characters: at the top 대한민국 경찰 근속 기장 “Republic of Korea Police Longevity Medal”, in the center, it has 성실장 “Faithfulness Medal” but in Chinese characters, so it reads 誠實章, and on the very bottom, it reads 10년근속공로 “Ten Years Meritorious Service”.
The green plastic case is 3 inches (7.62 cm) wide by 7 inches (17.78 cm) long. The Korean Police emblem is embossed in gold at the top of the case. The gold Korean lettering, below the emblem, reads 성실장(10년근) “Faithfulness Medal (10 Years Service)”.
20 Year Service Medal
The “Volunteer Medal” 봉사장 was first established on July 18, 1981, by Presidential Decree, Number 10392. It was awarded to policemen with 20 years of continuous service. The pendant is 42 mm X 48 mm and is 4.5 mm thick. The front has a design of a dove with a laurel leaf in its mouth on top of a 20 mm in diameter disc. The disc is surrounded by two clasped hands with eight fingers shaped into a shield. The pendant is suspended from the ribbon by two suspension rings, with a miniature Korean National Police emblem mounted between the two rings.
The ribbon is 35 mm x 50 mm in size. In the original legislation, the stripe pattern was: White 5 mm, Blue 5 mm, Red 5 mm, White 5 mm, Red 5 mm, Blue 5 mm, and White 5 mm. However, when Presidential Decree #11984 was enacted on Oct. 25, 1986, the stripe pattern changed to: Red 5 mm, Blue 5 mm, White 5 mm, Red 5 mm, White 5 mm, Blue 5 mm and Red 5 mm. This stripe pattern remained until the Long Service Medals were discontinued in 2000.
The back of the medal has the following: at the top 대한민국 경찰 근속 기장 “Republic of Korea Police Longevity Medal”, in the center, it has 봉사장 “Volunteer Medal” but in Chinese characters, so it reads 奉仕章, and on the very bottom, it reads 20년근속공로 “Twenty Years Meritorious Service”.
The green plastic case is 3 inches wide by 7 inches long. The Korean Police emblem is embossed in gold at the top of the case. The gold Korean lettering, below the emblem, reads 봉사장(20년근) “Volunteer Medal (20 Years Service)”.
30 Year Service Medal
The “Loyalty Medal” 충성장 was first established on July 18, 1981, by Presidential Decree, Number 10392. It was awarded to policemen with 30 years of continuous service. The pendant is 42mm by 48mm and is 4.5mm thick. The front has a design of a sword surrounded by a wreath on top of a 20mm in diameter disc. The disc is surrounded by two clasped hands with eight fingers shaped into a shield. The pendant is attached to the ribbon by two suspension rings, with a miniature Korean National Police emblem mounted between the two rings.
The ribbon is 35mm x 50mm in size. The stripe pattern is: Red 5mm, Blue 5mm, White 5mm, Red 5mm, White 5mm, Blue 5mm, and Red 5mm. However when Presidential Decree #11984 was enacted on Oct. 25, 1986, the stripe pattern changed to: White 5mm, Blue 5mm, Red 5mm, White 5mm, Red 5mm, Blue 5mm and White 5mm. This stripe pattern remained until the Long Service Medals were discontinued in 2000.
The back of the medal has the following: at the top 대한민국 경찰 근속 기장 “Republic of Korea Police Longevity Medal”, in the center, it has 충성장 “Loyalty Medal” but in Chinese characters, so it reads 忠誠章, and on the very bottom, it reads 30년근속공로 “Thirty Years Meritorious Service”.
The green plastic case is 3 inches wide by 7 inches long. The Korean Police emblem is embossed in gold at the top of the case. The gold Korean lettering, below the emblem, reads 충성장(30년근) “Loyalty Medal (30 Years Service)”.
40 Year Service Medal
The “Life Medal” 평생장 was established on Oct. 25, 1986, by Presidential Decree, Number 11984. It was awarded to policemen with 40 years of continuous service. The pendant is 42mm by 48mm and is 4.5mm thick. The front has a design of a Mugunghwa Flower on top of a 20mm in diameter disc. The disc is surrounded by two clasped hands with eight fingers shaped into a shield. The pendant is suspended from the ribbon by two suspension rings with a miniature Korean National Police emblem mounted between the two rings.
The ribbon is 35mm x 50mm in size. The stripe pattern is: White 5mm, Blue 5mm, White 5mm, Red 5mm, White 5mm, Blue 5mm, and White 5mm wide.
The back of the medal has the following: at the top 대한민국 경찰 근속 기장 “Republic of Korea Police Longevity Medal”, in the center, it has 평생장 “Life Medal” but in Chinese characters, so it reads 平生章, and on the very bottom, it reads 40년근속공로 “Forty Years Meritorious Service”.
The green plastic case is 3 inches wide by 7 inches long. The Korean Police emblem is embossed in gold at the top of the case. The gold Korean lettering, below the emblem, reads 평생장(40년근) “Life Medal (40 Years Service)”.
Award Certificates
Along with the medal, award recipients are issued a small wallet sized award certificate, approximately 3.5 inches wide by 2.5 inches high. They are required to carry this card whenever they wear their medal or the ribbon bar.
The card has a control number in the upper left hand corner. Near top center is 경찰관기장수여증 “Police Officer Medal Award Certificate”. This is followed by several hand written fields, which are: the name of the award, where the recipient is assigned, his rank, recipients full name, date of birth and lastly the date of issue for the award. At the very bottom is 내무부장관 “Ministry of Home Affairs”.
2000 Series
Prior to 2000, The National Police Long Service Medals were legislated under the 경찰공무원기장령 Police Officer Medal Decree. On Dec. 30, 2000, Presidential Decree #17064 discontinued the legislation, but not the medals. On that same day, 경찰공무원기장수여규칙 “Police Official Medal Award Rules” were issued under 경찰청훈령 제342호 “National Police Agency Order No. 342”. I have not been able to get that portion of the legislation which deals with the specific features of the medals. However, on July 31, 2009, 경찰청훈령 제548호 “National Police Agency Order No. 548” was issued. There were no changes to the medals since Oct. 25, 1986 when the ribbons changed on the 20 and 30 year long service medals. There have been several legislative changes since then, however, the latest piece of legislation 경찰청훈령 제952호 “National Police Agency Order #952”, which was issued on Sept. 26, 2019, still does not show any physical changes since 1986.
Footnotes:
- Cabral, David L., REPUBLIC OF KOREA NATIONAL POLICE AGENCY SERVICE MEDALS, Article in the Medal Collector, Vol.46 No.1-2, 1995, Pp.27-36.
- The eagle designs used by the Korean Police are modeled after the Steller Sea Eagle.
- The center design at first glance appears to be a trident, but the legislation clearly says “월계수” Laurel Leaf.