Seoul Administrative Court (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jul. 16 (Korea Bizwire) – A South Korean court has ruled that the government was justified in denying national merit status to a man who was executed by North Korean forces during the Korean War after moving rice on orders from South Korean troops.
According to legal sources on July 15, the 8th Administrative Division of the Seoul Administrative Court, presided over by Judge Lee Jung-hee, recently ruled against the plaintiff in a lawsuit filed by the children of the deceased, identified only as Mr. A, seeking to overturn the Seoul Regional Office of Patriots and Veterans Affairs’ decision to deny his national merit registration.
During the Korean War, which began on June 25, 1950, Mr. A had moved rice stored in a public warehouse at the direction of South Korean forces. Subsequently, when North Korean troops attacked the village, he was accused of being a collaborator and executed.
Mr. A’s surviving family members applied for registration as family members of a person of national merit, arguing that he qualified as either a soldier killed in action or one who died on duty under the Act on Honorable Treatment and Support of Persons of Distinguished Services to the State.
However, the Patriots and Veterans Affairs Committee rejected the application. After the Central Administrative Appeals Commission also dismissed their appeal, the family filed an administrative lawsuit.
The court sided with the government, stating, “Based on the submitted materials alone, it is insufficient to consider Mr. A as a soldier killed in action or one who died on duty, and there is no evidence to support this claim.”
The court determined that Mr. A did not meet the legal criteria of being “a person who died during combat or equivalent activities” or someone who “performed duties directly related to national defense, security, or the protection of citizens’ lives and property” as stipulated in the relevant law.
Regarding Mr. A’s name being listed in the registry of those killed during the Korean War, compiled by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the court explained, “This only proves that he died during the Korean War, but does not demonstrate that he died during combat, equivalent activities, or related training exercises.”
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
