Military Death Investigation Committee Nearing End of Term "Extension Needed"

"Government Shows No Interest" as Activity Period Ends This September
1,180 Cases Investigated Over 5 Years... 13 Still Under Investigation

The Presidential Commission on Military Death Incident Investigation (Military Death Investigation Commission) has requested an extension of its activity period. The Military Death Investigation Commission was launched on September 14, 2018, under the "Special Act on the Investigation of Military Death Incidents," and is scheduled to conclude its activities on September 13.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 2nd, Chairman Song Ki-chun held a press conference at Post Tower in Seoul and urged the extension of the commission's activity period, stating, "It is appropriate for an independent organization to fairly investigate the truth of military death incidents." Chairman Song said, "Approximately 39,000 people who died during military service have not been recognized as having died in the line of duty," and added, "I want to raise the question of whether it is right to halt the activities of the Military Death Investigation Commission in a reality where these individuals are not being properly honored."

The Military Death Investigation Commission has investigated 1,787 petition cases and 66 ex officio cases so far, uncovering the truth in 1,180 cases, which accounts for 63.7%. Decisions were made to withdraw 217 cases, dismiss 151 cases, reject 203 cases, and declare 89 cases as impossible to investigate. Thirteen petition cases are still under investigation.

Among the cases for which the Military Death Investigation Commission requested the Ministry of National Defense to re-examine whether the deaths were in the line of duty or combat-related, 94.7% were recognized as such. Cases for which re-examinations were requested from the National Police Agency and the Ministry of Justice were recognized as line-of-duty deaths at rates of 94.6% and 100%, respectively. Since there are still approximately 39,000 individuals who died during military service but have not been recognized as having died in the line of duty, the commission insists that its activities must be extended to investigate these cases. To extend the commission’s activity period, the "Special Act on the Investigation of Military Death Incidents" must be amended.

In May, Assemblyman Ahn Kyu-baek of the Democratic Party of Korea proposed a bill to extend the commission’s investigation period by three years, but there is not much time left for it to pass through the National Assembly before the activity period ends. Regarding the delay in the procedure, Chairman Song explained, "Since President Yoon Suk-yeol took office in May last year and expressed his intention to dissolve various commissions once their terms expire, it was not easy to express a different stance."

When asked whether the government requested the commission to end its activities, he said, "That did not happen," but added, "However, I got the impression that there was not much interest in extending the activity period."

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