Korean War Service Medal

Korean War Service Medal
Korean War Service Medal (1954 to present) 6.25사변종군기장 (lit. 6.25 Incident Participation Medal)
Awarded by Minister of National Defense of the Republic of Korea
Type	Service medal
Eligibility	All United Nations military forces that served during the Korean War
Status	Current
Related	Korean Service Medal Korean Defense Service Medal (U.S.) Korea Medal (British Commonwealth) Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation (South Korea) United Nations Service Medal
Service ribbon (1950 to present)

The Korean War Service Medal (KWSM, Korean: 6.25사변종군기장), also known as the Republic of Korea War Service Medal (ROKWSM), is a military award of South Korea which was first authorized in December 1950.

Originally and technically known as the 6.25 Incident Participation Medal (Presidential decree #390; 6.25 stands for June 25, 1950, the date of the beginning of the North Korean invasion into South Korea.), the colored and enameled 5-pointed star version of the Korean War Service Medal was first authorized to South Korean troops who had participated in the initial counter-assaults against North Korean aggression in June 1950.

On September 15, 1951, President Syngman Rhee referred to and authorized the commander-chief of the United Nations Command to confer the award of the "Korean War Medal" and "Korean War Ribbon" ("Korean War Service Medal"), "to the brave and valiant members of the United Nations Command who have been, and are now, combating the communist aggressor in Korea."

On April 14, 1954, the South Korean government authorized the change of the star medal design to the round "Crossed Bullets" design (Presidential decree #892) of the Korean War Service Medal. The Taeguk (Korean Yin-Yang symbol) circular symbol is not on the center of the suspension ribbon of the original medal or the suspension ribbon of the crossed bullets medal. The Taegut symbol is only on the center of the service ribbon.

The ROK specifies the eligibility period and criteria. Only the ROK-provided medal is approved by the U.S. government to meet the U.S. criteria for wear on the military uniform.

In order to wear the medal and ribbon personnel must have:

The order of precedence for non-U.S. service medals and ribbons is determined by date of approval. The Republic of Korea War Service Medal (August 20, 1999) should be worn after the Kuwait Liberation Medal (March 16, 1995). For the majority of Korean War veterans, the medal will be worn after the United Nations Service Medal, or the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal if they served during that conflict.