A local court Tuesday ruled in favor of a 25-year-old man who was injured in the military while preparing for a martial arts screening for promotion, recognizing him as a "National Meritorious Person" who deserves state compensation.
The man, identified only by his last name Kim, joined the special forces unit as a non-commissioned officer in November 2006 and was seriously wounded while he was practicing for a martial arts test in June 2007. He received treatment several times but was later discharged from the service, according to court documents.
Kim had filed a petition with the local veterans affairs office to obtain the 'person of national merit' status, claiming his boss forced him to practice excessive martial arts exercises and that subsequent military drills worsened his condition.
Authorities, however, turned down his request, citing that there was no relevance between his injury and his official military duty. Kim filed a suit against the government to reverse the decision.
"The plaintiff seems to have been wounded in the course of performing official duties considering a doctor's opinion that excessive training after serving in the military caused the disease or could have worsened it," said the Jeonju District Court in Jeonju, 243 kilometers south of Seoul.
People of national merit are entitled to a monthly state subsidy for livelihood and various other social benefits in South Korea.
All able-bodied men in South Korea must serve in the military at least for two years, while those who volunteer as non-commissioned officers are expected to serve for more than four years.