View source for Order of Merit for National Foundation

{{Short description|Award of South Korea}}
{{Infobox order
|title=Order of Merit for National Foundation
|image=Order of Merit for National Foundation for Chu Fucheng 2013-12.JPG
|caption=3rd Grade Order of Merit for National Foundation.
|awarded_by={{KOR}}
|type=[[Order of merit]]
|established=
|eligibility=
|for=''Outstanding meritorious services in the interest of founding or laying a foundation for the Republic of Korea.''
|status=Active
|grades= Republic of Korea Medal<br />Presidential Medal<br />Independence Medal<br />Patriotic Medal<br />National Medal
|former_grades=
|first_induction=
|last_induction=
|total=
|recipients=
|individual=
|higher= [[Grand Order of Mugunghwa]]
|related= {{flatlist|
* [[Order of Civil Merit (Korea)|Order of Civil Merit]]
* [[Order of Military Merit (Korea)|Order of Military Merit]] 
* [[Order of Service Merit]] 
* [[Order of National Security Merit (Korea)|Order of National Security Merit]] 
* [[Order of Diplomatic Service Merit]] 
* [[Order of Industrial Service Merit]] 
* [[Order of Saemaeul Service Merit]] 
* [[Order of Cultural Merit (Korea)|Order of Cultural Merit]] 
* [[Order of Sports Merit]] 
* [[Order of Science and Technology Merit]]
}}
|image2=
|caption2=}}
{{Infobox Korean name|title=Korean name|
hangul=건국훈장|
hanja=建國勳章|
rr=Geonguk Hunjang|
mr=Kŏn'guk Hunjang}}
The '''Order of Merit for National Foundation''' ({{Korean|hangul=건국훈장}}) is one of [[South Korea]]'s [[Order (distinction)|orders]] of merit. It is awarded by the [[President of South Korea]] for "outstanding meritorious services in the interest of founding or laying a foundation for the Republic of Korea."<ref>{{Cite act|title=Awards and Decorations Act|number=11690|date=March 23, 2013| (amended)|url=https://elaw.klri.re.kr/eng_service/lawView.do?hseq=28003&lang=ENG}}(in English and Korean) ''Korea Legislation Research Institute.'' Retrieved 2018-02-14.</ref> The Order was originally established under a slightly different name  건국공로훈장 (建國功勞勳章) by Presidential Decree #82, on Apr. 27, 1949, and is the oldest Order of the Republic of Korea. On January 16, 1967, there were major changes made to the Order of National Foundation under Presidential Decree #2929.  The name of the Order was shortened from 건국공로훈장 (建國功勞勳章) to 건국훈장 (建國勳章), and all three classes got new names and designs.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://koreanmedals.com/ |title=Home |website=koreanmedals.com}}</ref>

== Grades ==
The Order of Merit for National Foundation is awarded in five grades.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sanghun.go.kr/nation/information/posangInfo3.do|title=훈장과 포장|date=2015|website=Decorations of the Republic of Korea|publisher=Ministry of Interior and Safety|language=ko|trans-title=Orders and Medals|access-date=2018-02-14}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Grade
! Name
! Ribbon
|-
| 1st
| Republic of Korea Medal (대한민국장)
| [[File:ROK Order of Merit for National Foundation - Order of the Republic of Korea.png|100px|center]]
|-
| 2nd
| Presidential Medal (대통령장)
| [[File:ROK Order of Merit for National Foundation - Order of the President.png|100px|center]]
|-
| 3rd
| Independence Medal (독립장)
| [[File:ROK Order of Merit for National Foundation - Order of Independence.png|100px|center]]
|-
| 4th
| Patriotic Medal (애국장)
| [[File:ROK Order of Merit for National Foundation - Order of Patriotism.png|100px|center]]
|-
| 5th
| National Medal (애족장)
| [[File:ROK Order of Merit for National Foundation - Order of National Pride.png|100px|center]]
|}

== Recipients ==
By 2005 about 8,000 people had received the Order.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.khistory.or.kr/news/read.asp?num=99|access-date=2006-04-22|title=[보훈처] 3·1절 계기 독립유공자 포상 보도자료|work=Webzine Korean History (웹진 현대사)}}</ref> Many of its recipients have only been awarded the Order [[Posthumous award|posthumously]], often because they died before it was established; these include [[Kim Ku]], [[An Jung-geun]], and [[Cho Man-sik]].

Presidents of the Republic of Korea receive the order upon taking office. 

Recipients: 

Presidents of the Republic of Korea: 

1. [[Yoon Suk Yeol|Yoon Seok Yeol]] (May 10, 2022) 

2. [[Lee Jae-myung|Lee Jae Myung]] (June 4, 2025) 

3. [[Moon Jae-in|Moon Jae In]] (May 10, 2017) 

==See also==
*[[Orders, decorations, and medals of South Korea]]

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
*[https://www.sanghun.go.kr/nation/hunjangDetail.html#tab2 Images of the Order of Merit for National Foundation] (in Korean with some English)
{{Honors and decorations of South Korea}}

[[Category:Government of South Korea]]
[[Category:Orders of South Korea|National Foundation]]
[[Category:Order of Merit for National Foundation (South Korea)|National Foundation]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of Merit for National Foundation| ]]
[[Category:Awards established in 1949]]
[[Category:1949 establishments in South Korea]]


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