Independence fighters who opposed Japanese colonialism could be stripped of national hero status in South Korea if they contributed to the creation of North Korea, Seoul’s veterans minister said Monday.

In a statement posted on social media, Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs Park Min-sik said that even those who fought against Japanese rule do not deserve status as Persons of National Merit if they “contributed to the creation of North Korea’s Kim Il Sung regime or communism.”

“This is not about progressivism or conservatism but directly relates to the legitimacy of a free South Korea,” Park said in the