Abducted to North Korea During Korean War While Serving as Public Official... Court Orders Retirement Pension Payment

"No Grounds for Automatic Loss of Public Servant Status,"
Court Rules Family of Abducted Railroad Official Entitled to Retirement Pension

The court has ruled that the family of a railroad official who was forcibly taken to North Korea during the Korean War should be granted a retirement pension. The court determined that although the official was unable to perform his duties due to abduction, his status as a public servant was maintained.

According to the legal community, the Administrative Division 11 of the Seoul Administrative Court (Presiding Judge Kim Junyoung) recently ruled in favor of the plaintiff in a lawsuit filed by the family of Mr. A against the Government Employees Pension Service, seeking to overturn the denial of retirement pension payments, Yonhap News reported on the 24th.

Seoul Administrative Court

Mr. A, who was working as a railroad official under the Ministry of Transportation's Railroad Administration during the Korean War, was forcibly taken to North Korea by the North Korean People's Army in July 1950. While in North Korea, Mr. A married Ms. B and later passed away in 1996. Ms. B defected to South Korea in October 2003. In March of last year, Ms. B applied to the Government Employees Pension Service for Mr. A's retirement pension. However, the service responded that Mr. A was not eligible because he was not covered under the Government Employees Pension Act, prompting Ms. B to file a lawsuit in response.

"No Grounds for Automatic Loss of Public Servant Status"

The pension service argued that Mr. A did not meet the requirements for the period of service or contribution payments. However, the court did not accept this argument.

The court explained, "Mr. A was serving as a public official at the time of his abduction, and there is no evidence that any grounds for the automatic loss of his public servant status occurred or that any such disposition was made." The court further pointed out, "According to the former National Public Officials Act in effect at the time of Mr. A's abduction, abduction or disappearance of a public official is not a reason for automatic retirement, nor does it constitute grounds for dismissal or leave of absence."

Regarding the contribution payment requirement, the court stated, "Mr. A was abducted before the Government Employees Pension Act was enacted, so there is no record of contribution payments." The court continued, "The Government Employees Pension Act stipulates that if a person held public servant status, they may receive a retirement pension or lump-sum payment based on their period of service. It does not require contribution payments as a condition for receiving retirement benefits." The court added, "Once a person has been appointed and their status as a public servant has been established, the absence of accumulated contributions cannot be grounds for excluding them from coverage under the pension law."