"Chicken Fight Injury to Vital Area"... Why Did Veterans Lose the Lawsuit for National Merit Status?

"Claimed Injury in Military Service"... Application for National Merit
Court: "Does Not Meet Criteria or Related to Duty"

Former soldiers who filed lawsuits claiming injuries sustained during warm-up exercises before work or during deployment periods have consecutively lost their cases regarding recognition as national veterans.

In 1987, Mr. A, who belonged to an Army engineering unit, was injured in one testicle by an opponent's knee while playing "chicken fight" as a warm-up exercise before bridge construction work. He underwent partial resection surgery and was discharged in 1989 after completing his service.

In 2020, Mr. A applied for registration as a national veteran. However, when his application was rejected on the grounds that he did not meet the disability grade criteria, he filed a lawsuit against the head of the Gwangju Regional Veterans Office to cancel the decision of "rejection for not meeting the physical examination grade criteria for disability classification."

However, on the 12th, the Administrative Division 1 of the Gwangju High Court (Presiding Judge Kim Seong-ju) announced that Mr. A lost the appeal lawsuit, as in the first trial.

The court stated, "According to the criteria, a person who has lost the function of one testicle is classified as disability grade 7. Even if one testicle cannot produce sperm, as long as it produces hormones normally, it cannot be considered a loss of function."

[Image source=Pixabay]

Furthermore, the court explained that "Mr. A's physical appraisal also indicated that the testicle function was not completely lost but reduced," and that the decision by the Gwangju Regional Veterans Office that he did not meet the disability grade criteria was justified.

The disability grade is determined based on the physical condition and the degree of social life restrictions of national veterans or those eligible for veterans' compensation. It is classified from grade 1 to grade 7, with higher grades indicating more severe physical disabilities.

Mr. B, who claimed to have been injured in a fall accident during deployment in Vietnam, also filed a lawsuit against the head of the Gwangju Regional Veterans Office to cancel the decision of "non-eligibility for national veteran status," but the court dismissed the case.

Mr. B claimed that in 1972, during deployment, he fell 40 meters while handling military supplies for a civilian company and suffered fractures to his wrist, waist, and hip, and applied for national veteran status.

However, the court did not accept this claim. It noted that Mr. B had been significantly past his mandatory service period and was working locally for a private company with the tacit approval of his superiors, receiving private compensation while performing economic activities such as loading and unloading, during which he was injured.

The court further explained, "The loading and unloading work cannot be considered a duty directly related to national defense or similar functions."

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