Military Death Investigation Committee Requests Ministry of National Defense to "Reexamine Sergeant Byeon’s Death as Duty-Related"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter]The Ministry of National Defense appears to be reconsidering the death of the late Sergeant Byeon Hee-su of the Army as a 'line-of-duty death.'

The Presidential Commission on Military Death Incident Investigation (hereinafter the Commission) stated on the 25th, "As a result of the investigation, it was determined that the deceased's death was primarily caused by an unjust discharge," adding, "Based on police investigation results, forensic examinations, and autopsy investigations, the time of death was confirmed." The Commission also concluded that Sergeant Byeon died on February 27, the day before his non-commissioned officer service expiration date of February 28 last year.

The Commission explained that this judgment was made based on opinions from psychiatric specialists, psychological autopsy results, notes left by Sergeant Byeon, and testimonies regarding his mental state following the forced discharge.

In particular, regarding the court's recording of Sergeant Byeon's date of death as March 3, 2021, the Commission added, "After reviewing the evidence submitted to the court, it was judged to be a clerical error due to limitations of the adversarial principle."

Sergeant Byeon was forcibly discharged on January 23, 2020, due to gender reassignment surgery and filed an administrative lawsuit to cancel this discharge. However, he was found dead at his home on March 3, 2021, just before the first hearing. The Administrative Division 2 of Daejeon District Court ruled in favor of the plaintiff in December last year in the case filed by Sergeant Byeon's bereaved family to cancel the discharge.

As the Commission, through an ex officio investigation, determined Sergeant Byeon's time of death as February 27, 2021, while still a soldier, it is expected that the military authorities will conduct a reconsideration to cancel the forced discharge and recognize the death as line-of-duty due to self-harm.

The Commission also requested the prompt establishment of awareness and institutional improvement measures to prevent discrimination based on sexual orientation or other factors during military service.

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