During the Korean War, a court ruled that it is difficult to recognize a person who was executed by North Korean forces after moving rice under the orders of the South Korean military as a national merit recipient.
According to the legal community on the 15th, the Seoul Administrative Court Administrative Division 8 (Chief Judge Lee Jeong-hee) ruled against the plaintiff in a lawsuit filed by the family of the deceased Mr. A, who sought to cancel the refusal of registration as a national merit recipient by the Seoul Regional Veterans Office.
According to the family, Mr. A, who was the village head during the Korean War, was mobilized to assist in moving rice stored in a warehouse under the orders of the South Korean military. He was captured by North Korean forces and executed by firing squad on October 15, 1951. The family applied for registration as a national merit recipient under the Act on the Honorable Treatment and Support of Persons, etc. of Distinguished Services to the State, claiming he qualified as a war casualty or a service member who died in the line of duty, but the application was rejected, prompting the administrative lawsuit.
The current Act on the Honorable Treatment and Support of Persons, etc. of Distinguished Services to the State recognizes as national merit recipients those who “died during combat or acts equivalent thereto (war casualties)” or those who “died while performing duties or undergoing training directly related to the protection of the state’s security or safety, or the protection of the lives and property of the people (service members who died in the line of duty).”
The court found no problem with the Seoul Regional Veterans Office’s decision that Mr. A is “not a national merit recipient.” The court stated, “It is recognized that Mr. A was issued a certificate of participation in the Korean War by the Minister of National Defense in 2013, confirming that he participated as a laborer around October 1950, and that he is listed in the register of those killed in the Korean War compiled by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. However, it is insufficient to conclude that Mr. A died during ‘combat or acts equivalent thereto’ or ‘while performing duties or training directly related to the protection of the state’s security or safety or the protection of the lives and property of the people.’”
Furthermore, the court added, “Based on the submitted materials alone, it is also insufficient to conclude that Mr. A was mobilized, conscripted, or employed by the commander of a military unit or police station for combat or acts equivalent thereto,” and “records of the individual cannot be found in the service member death registers.”
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
