Personnel Office Recognizes Duty Death of Public Official Who Died from Overwork During African Swine Fever Quarantine

[Asia Economy Reporter Son Seon-hee] The Ministry of Personnel Management announced on the 16th that the death of a public official from overwork during African Swine Fever (ASF) quarantine duties in March has been recognized as a work-related death.

The Ministry of Personnel Management held a Public Official Disaster Compensation Review Committee meeting the day before and comprehensively considered the causal relationship between the work and the death, as well as the on-site investigation results, and announced on the same day that the work-related death of the late Jeong Seung-jae, a Grade 7 public official (52 years old) in Paju-si, Gyeonggi-do, was recognized.

Since September last year, Officer Jeong had been performing ASF quarantine-related duties such as blocking wild boars and managing burial sites. On March 20th, he collapsed in his office and died of myocardial infarction 10 days later.

Work-related death is recognized under the 'Public Officials Disaster Compensation Act' only when a public official dies during their tenure due to work or dies from work-related injury or illness during their tenure. In such cases, work-related death survivor pensions and compensation are provided.

Hwang Seo-jong, head of the Ministry of Personnel Management, said, "We thank the public officials who quietly do their best in quarantine-related duties despite difficult conditions," and added, "We will continue to provide national-level support and attention to public officials who suffer work-related injuries while dedicating themselves to the people."