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NHRCK Recommends Amendment of the Special Military Mission Compensation Act or Prepare New Legislation to Ensure Governmental Compensation to Koreans Performing Special Duties Under Foreign Military
Date : 2007.05.02 00:00:00 Hits : 1435

The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) recommended the speaker of the National Assembly and the Minister of National Defense to compensate Korean special agents who had performed espionage operations attached to the Korea Liaison Office (KLO) under the control of the United Nations Command during the Korean War.

The KLO has been excluded from the scope of compensation under ‘the Special Military Mission Compensation Act’ which was enacted on January 29, 2004, on the ground that they officially belonged to a foreign military.

The NHRCK deliberated the case based on the criteria of the former recommendation of the NHRCK and the purpose of enactment of the Special Act. On March 10, 2003, the NHRCK had recommended the speaker of the National Assembly and the Minister of National Defense to enact a special law to acknowledge the existence of the special agents, to restore their impaired reputation, and to compensate for their mental and physical strains and human rights abuses during the training and operations. The purpose of enactment stipulated in the ‘Special Military Mission Compensation Law’ was to provide necessary compensation to special agents engaged in important missions necessitating special sacrifices for the nation.

The NHRCK concluded to recommend that applicable provisions acknowledging the right to request compensation be explicitly inserted in the Special Military Mission Compensation Act or that a separate law be enacted to enable prompt compensation to the Korean special agents of the KLO. Based on its findings, Korean members of the KLO took part in the Korean War under the common goal of defending the country and made special sacrifices in their training and operations. Though they performed these valuable services under a foreign military unit, it should be duly noted that their missions were difficult and dangerous and, most importantly, that they were Korean nationals fighting for the same purpose. They are no less deserving of remuneration or assurance of compensation than other Korean special agents under the control of Korean military force who experienced equally severe mental and physical strain in their duties. Therefore the NHRCK confirmed that the government was obligated to compensate the Korean members of the KLO.

The KLO was extremely active in information gathering during the Korean War, especially from Chodo Island, the frontline, the east coast, and Seoul. Korean members of the KLO underwent grueling training and carried out challenging tasks in the Korean War under the common cause of safeguarding the country. During the operations and when the unit was disbanded following the cease fire, its members were not provided any reward, remuneration, or promise of compensation for their extremely valuable service and sacrifices.

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