Death from respiratory distress during military service... Court rules "Not recognized as a national merit recipient"

Insufficient to Recognize as Fallen Military or Police Officer

The court has ruled that a person cannot be recognized as a national merit recipient solely because they died after showing symptoms of respiratory distress during military service.

Seoul Administrative Court building.
Photo by Kim Hyun-min

According to the legal community on the 5th, the Seoul Administrative Court, Administrative Division 13 (Chief Judge Park Jeong-dae) ruled against Mr. A in a lawsuit he filed against the head of the Seoul Northern Veterans Affairs Office, demanding the cancellation of the decision that he did not meet the criteria for national merit recognition.

Mr. A's son collapsed due to respiratory distress at his military unit in 2021 and was transported to a hospital but passed away. The Army Ordinary Meritorious Service Review Committee recognized the causal relationship with official duties and acknowledged it as a death in the line of duty. The following year, Mr. A applied to the veterans affairs authorities for registration as a national merit recipient. However, the authorities stated, "There is no objective evidence confirming that the death was caused by performing duties directly related to the protection of the nation’s defense, security, or the life and property of the people," and thus could not recognize him as a death in the line of duty.

The court stated, "Since Mr. A died while performing his duties, he qualifies as a military personnel who died due to an accident under the Veterans Compensation Act, but this is insufficient to recognize him as a death in the line of duty." Referring to the medical record evaluation, the court said, "The direct cause of death appears to be respiratory distress caused by sudden hypoxia. There is a sufficient possibility that underlying diseases or constitutional predispositions were the cause."

The court added, "Even if it is considered that the death might have been prevented if the unit officers had diagnosed and treated him more appropriately after he collapsed, such circumstances alone cannot be recognized as fulfilling the criteria for national merit recognition."

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