An Byeongha, Who Refused to Open Fire During the May 18 Uprising, Has Pension Recognized After 42 Years

The family of the late Police Commissioner Byeongha An, who was dismissed for refusing to follow orders to open fire on citizens during the 5·18 Democratization Movement, has won a lawsuit against the Government Employees Pension Service regarding his retirement pension.

Late Police Commissioner Byeongha An.

According to the legal community on May 25, the Seoul Administrative Court's Administrative Division 2 (Presiding Judge Ko Eunseol) ruled in favor of An's spouse, Jeon Imsun, in a lawsuit seeking to overturn the decision of the Government Employees Pension Service to deny the payment of a lump-sum retirement pension.

During the May 1980 5·18 Gwangju Democratization Movement, An served as the head of the Jeonnam Provincial Police Agency (Superintendent) and refused the new military regime's orders for a hard-line crackdown and to open fire. He was subsequently taken to the Defense Security Command for investigation and was dismissed at his own request on June 2, 1980. In October 1988, he passed away after battling illnesses caused by torture.

In 2017, the police recognized An as the "Police Hero of the Year" and posthumously promoted him by one rank to Police Commissioner. In 2022, the Ministry of Personnel Management ruled that his voluntary resignation had been coerced and unlawful, and canceled the dismissal.

Subsequently, Jeon filed a claim in 2023 with the Government Employees Pension Service for a lump-sum survivor's pension. However, the agency considered An to have retired due to mandatory retirement on June 30, 1981, and calculated the lump sum to be approximately 29 million won.

Jeon then filed a lawsuit, arguing that the retirement date should be considered as the date of death, October 10, 1988. The court sided with Jeon's claim that the age-based mandatory retirement standard should be applied.

The court stated, "The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission determined that An's resignation was an unlawful administrative action under coercion and recommended that the age-based mandatory retirement standard be applied. The National Police Agency also paid the unpaid salary for the relevant period in April 2022 in accordance with the commission's recommendation."

Attorney Lim Seonsook, who represented Jeon, commented, "This is the first case in which the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission's decision to apply the age-based mandatory retirement standard has been legally recognized," adding, "It is a ruling that aligns with common sense and principle."