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16 years later, after suffering the aftereffects of the death of a subordinate, the Supreme Court has ruled that a former officer who made an extreme choice should be considered a veteran.
Today (31st), the 2nd division of the Supreme Court (Chief Judge Cheon Dae-yeop) announced that the family of the deceased A had reversed the original ruling that the plaintiff lost the lawsuit against the local Veterans Affairs Office under the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs and returned the case to the Seoul High Court.
Mr. A, who was serving as an army officer, suffered from guilt for not taking good care of his subordinates as his superiors when a subordinate sergeant died in an accident while working in 2001.
About 9 years later, Mr. A was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, and it is said that he usually showed symptoms such as auditory hallucinations.
Mr. A, whose condition seems to be improving with his medication, showed symptoms again, and was discharged from the military service in 2015.
A's spouse applied for national merit registration, saying that the deceased suffered from paranoid schizophrenia, depression, and sleep disturbance, but the Veterans Affairs Review Committee rejected it saying, "It does not meet the requirements for veterans compensation."
In response, A's family filed an administrative lawsuit.
The first trial court ruled in favor of the Ministry of Veterans Affairs, saying, "It was around 2010 when Mr. A started receiving treatment, so it is difficult to see that the death of his subordinate was the only cause of mental illness."
But the Supreme Court decided otherwise.
The Supreme Court said, "It appears that the symptoms of schizophrenia occurred or was triggered by experiencing a clear external stressor such as the death of a subordinate."
He added, "We considered the fact that Mr. A had no symptoms of mental illness before his appointment, and that his family history was not confirmed."