'Military Abuse' Leading to Extreme Choice... Supreme Court Recognizes Insurance Exemption

Court: "In a state unable to make free decisions"

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Kyung-jun] The Supreme Court has ruled that it was unfair to deny insurance payments to the family of a soldier who committed suicide after suffering insults and assaults from senior soldiers following his military enlistment.

The Supreme Court's Third Division (Presiding Justice Ahn Cheol-sang) overturned the lower court ruling that dismissed the insurance claims filed by the deceased soldier A's mother against two insurance companies, and remanded the case to the Seoul High Court, the court announced on the 4th.

A enlisted in December 2016 and was assigned to an Army infantry division. After being insulted and assaulted by senior soldiers, he was diagnosed with depression and committed suicide the following year.

A’s mother claimed that due to accumulated stress, he was in a state lacking free decision-making ability when he took his own life, and filed for insurance benefits under a policy taken out in his name before enlistment. The insurance companies refused payment, citing an exemption clause that excludes coverage if the insured intentionally harms themselves.

Both the first and second trials ruled in favor of the insurance companies, stating that A had taken his own life voluntarily and thus the exemption clause applied.

However, the Supreme Court’s judgment differed. The court stated, "There is room to recognize that the extreme choice was made in a state of severe pain without free decision-making ability," and ordered a retrial by the second trial court.