Police Officer in Vegetative State Due to Duty Accident... Court Rules "Death After Retirement Still Considered Duty-Related"

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The court has ruled that a police officer who fell into a vegetative state due to an accident while on duty and died after retirement qualifies as a national merit recipient. According to the legal community on the 22nd, the Administrative Division 1 of Cheongju District Court (Presiding Judge Seongsu Kim) ruled in favor of the plaintiff in a lawsuit filed by the spouse of the deceased police officer A against the Northern Chungbuk Veterans Affairs Office, seeking cancellation of the refusal to register as a national merit recipient. The court stated, "Even if the deceased sustained injuries while handling a traffic accident and died after retirement, they should be considered a police officer who died in the line of duty."

The Bereaved Family’s Perspective: "Qualifies as Police Officer Who Died in the Line of Duty"

In December 2013, while working as a police officer, Mr. A was directing traffic signals at a traffic accident scene when he was hit by a moving vehicle and fell into a vegetative state. He was officially retired in November 2016 and ultimately passed away in February 2020, more than six years after the accident. Mr. A’s spouse applied for national merit registration in July of that year, but the Veterans Affairs Office rejected the application on the grounds that "the deceased died after retirement." Mr. A’s spouse filed a lawsuit challenging this decision.

Mr. A’s spouse argued, "As long as a causal relationship between the accident during duty and the death is recognized, the timing of death being after retirement should not exclude the deceased from being considered a police officer who died in the line of duty." They further stated, "Excluding those who died after retirement from the category of police officers who died in the line of duty is an unreasonable discrimination based solely on the accidental timing of death, violating the principle of equality and forcing bereaved families into an unfair legal position by compelling them to maintain life-sustaining treatment for the public official."

Veterans Affairs Office’s Perspective: "Not Eligible Because Death Occurred After Retirement"

On the other hand, the Veterans Affairs Office defended the legality of the decision based on the former National Merit Act. The relevant provision of the National Merit Act cited by the Veterans Affairs Office is as follows: "Persons who died while performing duties or training directly related to the protection of the nation’s security or the lives and property of citizens as soldiers, police officers, or firefighters, and their surviving families, shall receive treatment according to the National Merit Act." (Article 4, Paragraph 1, Item 5 of the National Merit Act).

The Veterans Affairs Office interpreted this provision as "meaning that registration as a police officer who died in the line of duty is only possible if the person died before the registration application after sustaining injuries during duty and retiring, and that in cases where death occurred after retirement, registration as a police officer who died in the line of duty is not possible." They argued that the decision not to recognize Mr. A as a police officer who died in the line of duty was lawful. Previously, in December 2017, the Veterans Affairs Office had registered Mr. A as a police officer injured in the line of duty.

Court’s Judgment: "On What Grounds Is It Limited?"

However, the court rejected the Veterans Affairs Office’s argument and ruled in favor of Mr. A’s spouse. The court stated, "There is no reason to interpret the provision cited by the Veterans Affairs Office as limiting police officers who died in the line of duty to those who died before discharge or retirement while still holding the status of police officer at the time of death." The court added, "It is reasonable to interpret police officers who died in the line of duty as including those who sustained injuries during training or duty, retired or were discharged, and subsequently died due to those injuries."

The court further explained, "The National Merit Act designates police officers who died in the line of duty as national merit recipients to ensure the stability and welfare of their families," and "Refusing to recognize those who died after discharge or retirement as police officers who died in the line of duty solely based on the timing of death contradicts this legislative intent and violates the constitutional principle of equality." The Veterans Affairs Office has filed an appeal against this ruling.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.