NHRC Requests Army Chief of Staff to Discipline Staff and Pay Compensation to Victims, Issues Recommendation to Minister of National Defense to Reassess Death Classification System in Navy and Air Force
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) issued a recommendation to the Minister of National Defense to discipline the staff responsible for a breach of human rights. This recognition of a rights violation follows the September 2003 petition submitted against the Army Chief of Staff by Moon (67) on behalf of victim Kim (61, Moon’s sister-in-law) and charging that「Delaying notification that the cause of death of the victim’s husband Min (age 29 at time of death) was reclassified from ‘death due to illness’ to ‘death in the line of duty’ denied the victim 6 and a half years of compensation.」
The petition charged that the cause of death of Kim’s husband, who had originally been classified as having died of illness during his military service at Army Headquarters, had been re-classified to「death in the line of duty」 in December 1996. Although the bereaved could have received compensation from the re-classification, they were not notified by the Army Headquarters. It was not until June 2003 that the bereaved were able to confirm the re-classification by raising a civil appeal. Thus, the petitioner asserted that they have been deprived of their right to know, that they did not receive compensation for 6 and a half years, and that they have been defamed.
During the Commission investigation, the Army Headquarters responded that they review death cases to re-assess whether death occurred in the line of duty only when the bereaved not eligible for compensation (due to classification as simple death from illness or accident) raised a civil appeal. However, in order to speed up processing of the growing numbers of civil appeals, the Headquarters scheduled 4 sessions of the「Commission on the Dead and Wounded Offering Distinguished Service」 during 1996 and 1997, and used ex officio authority to re-classify deaths of 9,756 soldiers among 45,804 classified to have died from illness or accident since the establishment of the Army to「death in combat」 or「death in the line of duty,」 the latter of which included the late Min, husband of the victim. The Army Headquarters stated that they did not notify this change in classification owing to difficulties in locating the bereaved stemming from insufficient documentation of the addresses of the deceased or failure to secure cooperation from relevant bodies. Nevertheless, the Headquarters asserted that it had made a list of those affected, disseminated the list, and that it had also continuously publicized the change through posters. The Army is still in the process of tracing those who have not been notified as of yet.
However, the NHRC concluded that the Headquarters did not actively and directly pursue enough measures to try to locate the bereaved. First, it was possible for the Commission to locate 15 among 16 bereaved families who were arbitrarily picked among presently non-notified persons simply by using the deceased’s residential address at the time of death. Second, whether or not one qualifies for recognition as a veteran is important information, which is the premise upon which the bereaved can register to the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs. Third, the「Act on the Honorable Treatment and Support of Persons Performing Distinguished Services to the State」 (「Honorable Treatment and Support Act」) stipulates that the bereaved have the right to receive compensation from the month they register to the Ministry and thus notification itself and the timing of notification are all the more important.
Furthermore, during the NHRC investigation, the Commission found that as of May 2004, there were about 7,439 persons who have had their cause of death re-classified but whose survivors have not been notified by the Army Headquarters, as is the case with Kim. In light of these facts, the Commission concluded that the measures the Headquarters claimed to have undergone are insufficient, when taking into account the number of victims, the importance and, de facto efficacy, of obligation to notify.
Thus, the Commission has concluded that the failure of the Army Headquarters to convey relevant information to the bereaved has deprived the right of the bereaved to know and defamed them (breach of Article 9 of the Honorable Treatment and Support Act and Article 8 of the Regulations on the Handling of Dead and Wounded Veterans Cases). The Commission recommended that first, the Army Chief of Staff, as the petitionee, discipline the staff responsible for handling the cases of dead and wounded veterans, and second, to undertake extensive efforts toward notification. In particular, the Commission recognizes that the victim Kim had suffered financial and mental injury from the failure of the Armed Forces’ to notify re-classification and has decided to ask the Korean Bar Association to provide legal relief so that the victim can receive compensation for these repercussions.
During the Plenary Committee review of this case, the NHRC decided to investigate into the use of ex officio authority in order to investigate whether similar cases have occurred in the Navy and Air Force. The Human Rights Commission has found that the Navy and Air Force Headquarters have not reassessed deaths from illnesses and accidents by ex officio authority, and that 28 out of 53 Navy soldiers and 5 Air Force soldiers had been re-classified to death in the line of duty through civil appeals.
The Navy and Air Force Headquarters have claimed that they have no obligation to reassess the cases using ex officio authority given to them by the Regulations on the Handling of Dead and Wounded Veterans Cases; however, the NHRC concluded it is possible that many persons who had died on duty have been incorrectly classified as having died from illnesses or accidents, in view of the fact that 54% and 21% of those who had previously gone through civil appeal from the Navy and the Army respectively have been incorrectly classified.
The Human Rights Commission found that the conduct of the Navy and Air Force Headquarters has defamed those who have been incorrectly classified, and that it is unjust that the possibility of review depends on whether the deceased served in the Navy, Air Force or Army. The Commission thus recommended that the Minister of National Defense, as the highest commanding authority with jurisdiction over this issue, completely re-assess all those who had been classified as having died from illnesses and accidents since the establishment of the Navy and Air Force. –End.
