Even national veterans who fought in the Korean War and received medals are not eligible for burial in the National Cemetery if they have a history of desertion, according to a court ruling.
On the 14th, according to the legal community, the Seoul Administrative Court Administrative Division 5 (Chief Judge Kim Sun-yeol) ruled against the plaintiff in a lawsuit filed by the family of the late Korean War veteran Mr. A, who sought to overturn the decision that he was not eligible for burial in the National Seoul Memorial Cemetery.
Mr. A was awarded the Hwarang Military Merit Medal and the Chungmu Military Merit Medal for his service in the Korean War, and after discharge, he was recognized for his work at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Prime Minister’s Secretariat, receiving the Order of Civil Merit, Red Stripes.
After Mr. A, who was designated as a national veteran, passed away, his family applied for his burial at the National Seoul Memorial Cemetery. However, the cemetery decided he was ineligible for burial, citing his history of desertion and stating that he was a person who, according to the National Cemetery Act, was deemed to have damaged the honor of the national cemetery.
In response, Mr. A’s family filed an administrative lawsuit, arguing that considering his various awards and public service career after discharge, the military records indicating desertion were unreliable simple errors.
The court sided with the cemetery. The bench found that it was established that Mr. A deserted and left his unit for about 10 months.
The court stated, “Multiple military records detail that Mr. A deserted for about nine months before returning and then failed to report to his assigned unit for about one month,” adding, “In particular, different types of writing instruments were used for each entry in the residence register and other documents, making it unlikely that errors such as mistakes or mismanagement occurred during the preparation and maintenance of the military records.”
The court further ruled, “The period Mr. A was absent without leave from his unit, approximately 10 months, cannot be considered short, and no other special circumstances justifying his absence have been confirmed,” and concluded, “It is difficult to recognize that the cemetery’s decision to exclude Mr. A from burial eligibility was based on a factual error, lacked objectivity, or constituted an abuse or excess of discretion.”
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