[1] Whether education and training under Article 3 (1) 3 [Attachment 1] 2-2 of the Enforcement Decree of the Act on the Honorable Treatment and Support of Persons, etc. of Distinguished Services to the State and "direct preparations and reorganization activities" are included (affirmative), and the standard for determining whether preparation and reorganization activities are directly related to education and training

[2] The meaning of "direct cause relationship" necessary to be recognized as a soldier on duty pursuant to Article 3 (1) 3 [Attachment 1] 2-1 and 2-2 of the Enforcement Decree of the Act on the Honorable Treatment and Support of Persons, etc. of Distinguished Service to the State, and whether it constitutes a soldier on duty under Article 2-1 and 2-2 of the Enforcement Decree of the Act (negative)

[1] Article 3(1)3 [Attachment 1] [Attachment 1] 2-2 of the Enforcement Decree of the Act on the Honorable Treatment and Support of Persons, etc. of Distinguished Service to the State, does not directly stipulate whether the act of preparing or arranging directly related thereto is included in education and training. However, Article 2-1 of the above [Attachment 1] includes occupational duties, and Article 2 [Attachment 1] of the Enforcement Decree of the Act on Support for Persons Eligible for Veteran’s Compensation for Veteran’s Compensation for Veteran’s Compensation for Veteran’s Compensation for Veteran’s Compensation for Veteran’s Compensation for Veteran’s Compensation for Veteran’s Compensation for Veteran’s Compensation for Veteran’s Compensation for Veteran’s Compensation for Veteran’s Compensation for Veteran’s Compensation for Veteran’s Compensation for Veteran’s Compensation for Persons of Distinguished Service to the State includes “act of preparing or arranging directly related to education and training” as stated in Article 2-1 of the above [Attachment 1]. In addition, it should be determined whether the act of preparing or arranging directly related to education and training directly related to the national defense directly related to education and training.

[2] According to the delegation of the Act on the Honorable Treatment and Support of Persons, etc. of Distinguished Service to the State (hereinafter “Act”), comprehensively taking into account “the degree of relationship between the performance of duties or education and training of the State and the protection of the lives and property of the people,” and “the circumstance and degree of negligence of the persons who died or died (including diseases),” the Enforcement Decree of the Act on the Honorable Treatment and Support of Persons, etc. of Distinguished Service to the State (hereinafter “Enforcement Decree of the Act on the Honorable Treatment and Support of Persons of Distinguished Service to the State”) that set the specific standards and scope of the requirements for persons of distinguished service to the State” under Article 3(1)3 [Attachment Table 1] and Article 2-1 and 2-2 of the Enforcement Decree of the Act on the Honorable Treatment and Support of Persons, etc. of Distinguished Service to the State, which directly related to the national defense and security, or the protection of the lives and property of the people who died or were wounded,” the relevant requirements for education and training or education and training shall be separately prescribed within the scope of “legal relationship or education and training”

Therefore, in cases where the performance of duties or education and training cannot be deemed as a principal cause of death or injury, such as where death or injury was entirely caused by his/her negligence or private circumstance, or where negligence or private circumstance competes considerably, it is difficult to deem that a soldier on duty is a soldier on duty pursuant to Article 3(1)3 [Attachment 1] 2-1 and 2-2 of the Enforcement Decree of the Act on Persons of Distinguished Services to the State

[1] Article 3 (1) 3 [Attachment 1] 2-1 and 2-2 of the Enforcement Decree of the Act on the Honorable Treatment and Support of Persons, etc. of Distinguished Service to the State; Article 2 [Attachment 1] 1 and 2 of the Enforcement Decree of the Act on Support for Persons, etc. of Distinguished Service to the State / [2] Article 3 (1) 3 [Attachment 1] 2-1 and 2-2 of the Enforcement Decree of the Act on the Honorable Treatment and Support of Persons, etc. of Distinguished Service to the State; Article 2 [Attachment 1] 1

Plaintiff (Attorney Lee In-hee et al., Counsel for the plaintiff-appellant)

Head of the Gyeongnam-dong Veterans Branch Office

Busan High Court (Chowon) Decision 2014Nu10038 decided September 4, 2014

The judgment below is reversed, and the case is remanded to Busan High Court.

The grounds of appeal are examined.

1. A. The Act on the Honorable Treatment and Support of Persons, etc. of Distinguished Services to the State (amended by Act No. 11041, Sept. 15, 201; hereinafter “the Act on the Honorable Treatment and Support of Persons, etc. of Distinguished Services to the State”) was enacted with the aim of promoting their livelihood stability and welfare and contributing to the promotion of citizens’ patriotism by properly treating and supporting persons of distinguished services to the State who have sacrificed or contributed to the State. This is distinguishable from the Act on the Support for Persons, etc. of Distinguished Services to the State (hereinafter “the Act on the Honorable Treatment and Support of Persons, etc.”) enacted with the aim of providing reasonable support to persons who have rendered distinguished services to the State and their bereaved families or families. The purpose of this is to ensure that persons who are obliged to receive honorable treatment from citizens among the persons eligible for veteran’s benefits are persons of distinguished

B. Article 4(1) of the Act on Persons of Distinguished Service to the State stipulates the requirements of persons of distinguished service to the State to which the Act on Persons of Distinguished Service to the State applies to national and social development (No. 18), and classify them into soldiers and police officers killed or wounded (No. 3), soldiers and police officers killed or wounded in action (No. 4), and soldiers and police officers wounded in action (No. 5), and soldiers and police officers killed or wounded in action (No. 6). The requirements of “military persons, police officers, or fire officers killed or wounded in action directly related to national defense and security, national safety, or the protection of people’s lives and property” (hereinafter “national defense, security, or protection of people’s lives, property, etc.”).

Meanwhile, Article 4(6) of the Act on Persons of Distinguished Services to the State excludes persons of distinguished services to the State who died or were wounded (including diseases) due to any of the causes referred to in Article 4(1)3 through 6 of the Act on Persons of Distinguished Services to the State, “Where a person is killed or wounded by his/her intentional or gross negligence without any inevitable reason, or significantly violates any relevant statute or any order of his/her superior.”

Article 4(2) of the Act on the Persons of Distinguished Services to the State provides for the criteria and scope of persons who have rendered distinguished services to the State under subparagraphs 3 through 6 of paragraph (1). The scope of “the scope of persons who have rendered distinguished services to the State”, “the extent of the performance of their duties or education and training, or the protection of the lives and property of the State (including diseases)” and “the details and degree of their own negligence, such as the death or injury (including diseases),” and Article 3(1) of the Enforcement Decree of the Act on the Honorable Treatment and Support of Persons, etc. of Distinguished Services to the State (hereinafter “Enforcement Decree of the Act on the Persons of Distinguished Services to the State”) shall be determined by the Presidential Decree, comprehensively taking into account the following factors: (i) the scope of the persons who have died or have been directly related to the performance of their duties, such as rescue and relief of dangerous substances (including the scope of their duties, such as rescue and relief of dangerous substances, and (ii) the scope of the persons who died or have been directly related to their duties.

C. (1) As such, the Act on Persons of Distinguished Service to the State requires that “the former Act on Persons of Distinguished Service to the State is directly related to the protection of the State, etc.” unlike otherwise expressly provided for by the former Act on Persons of Distinguished Service to the State in respect of persons of distinguished service recognized as persons of distinguished service as persons of distinguished service. In this regard, the said Act is distinguishable from the Act on Persons of Distinguished Service to the State who did not require any such restriction as to the nature of performance of duties or education and training

On the other hand, Article 2-2 of the attached Table 2-1 of this case does not directly stipulate whether the act of preparation or adjustment directly related to education and training includes "the act of preparation or adjustment directly related to this case". However, Article 2-1 of the attached Table 2 of the Enforcement Decree of the Act on Support for Persons Eligible for Veteran's Compensation (hereinafter "Enforcement Decree of the Veterans' Compensation Act") includes both "the act of preparation or adjustment related thereto" in the performance of duties and education and training under subparagraph 1 and 2 of Article 2 of the Enforcement Decree of the Act on Support for Persons Eligible for Veteran's Compensation for Veteran's Compensation for Veteran's Compensation for Veteran's Compensation for Veteran's Compensation for Veteran's Compensation for Veteran's Compensation for Veteran's Compensation for Veteran's Compensation for Veteran's Compensation for Veteran's Compensation for Veteran's Compensation for Veteran's Compensation for Veteran's Compensation for Veteran's Compensation for Veteran's Compensation for Survivors's Compensation for Education and Training as well as "the act of preparation or adjustment related directly to education and training."

(2) In addition, according to the delegation of the Act on Persons of Distinguished Services to the State, comprehensively considering the following as a whole: “The degree of relationship between the performance of duties or education and training and the national defense or security, or the protection of the lives and property of the people” and “the circumstance where a person was killed or wounded (including illness), and the existence and degree of his/her own negligence,” the Enforcement Decree of the Act on Persons of Distinguished Services to the State setting the specific standards and scope of the requirements for persons of distinguished services to the State shall be deemed as having determined the scope of the requirements for persons of distinguished services to the State as stipulated in Articles 2-1 and 2-2 of the attached Table 2-1 of this case, and the Presidential Decree of the Act on Persons of Distinguished Services to the State as having been directly related to the national defense, etc. as stipulated in subparagraph 1(a) of Article 2-1 of the Act on Persons of Distinguished Services to the State, which directly related to the performance of duties or education and training should be determined as “an accident or accident caused directly” and medically related to the relevant person’s or education and training.

Therefore, in a case where the death or injury was entirely caused by his/her negligence or private circumstance, or where the negligence or private circumstance significantly competes with each other, it cannot be deemed that the main cause of the death or injury was the death or injury, it is difficult to deem that the death or injury constituted a soldier on duty as a soldier on duty in accordance with subparagraphs 2-1 and 2-2 of the attached Table 2

2. The reasoning of the lower judgment reveals the following facts.

A. On April 20, 2012, the Deceased, the main mission of which is to support small diving boxes and transportation, and the communications relay systems of small diving boxes and the head of a Gun and training, was to gather fire-fighting and flood control training and conduct training programs to be conducted from April 20, 2012 to 08:45 to 08:55 (hereinafter “instant training”), and to make a report to the appointed soldiers on a restaurant at the ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ on April 20, 2012 (hereinafter “instant accident”). Around 10:15, the Deceased was found to have been fludddd with a toilet on April 20, 2012 (hereinafter “instant accident”).

(b) Navy vessels are at anchor or at anchor, if at all times she is sailing a ship, skes due to the influence of wave, and narrow the number of steering gear who operates the weapons narrow, but are not good air at all times, and therefore some of the steering gear out of the steering gear shall navigate into a boat far.

C. Fire extinguishing agents have been discovered in Australias of the deceased, and food in the implements observed in the deceased’s body is presumed to have been caused by dysto during the next death process, and it is also recognized that food had come to the next death with water in the following process.

3. Examining these facts in light of the legal principles as seen earlier, the following circumstances are revealed.

Even if the instant training may constitute education and training directly related to the national defense, etc. as stated in subparagraph 2-2 of the attached Table 2-2 of this case, it is insufficient to view that the instant training was conducted in close vicinity to the instant training time and spatially, solely on the ground that the deceased’s act was conducted in close vicinity to the instant training, such act is directly connected to the education and training directly related to the national defense, etc., and it constitutes an unnecessary and unnecessary act for the smooth implementation of the training. Therefore, it is difficult to view it as an act of preparation directly related to the instant education and training as being included

In addition, if the deceased died due to his failure to take the toilet as acknowledged by the court below, it is insufficient to recognize that the failure was directly caused by the main reason of duties or education and training directly related to the national defense, etc., and there is no possibility of proximate causal relation cited by the court below.

Ultimately, it is difficult to view that the instant accident caused the death of the deceased as falling under the “accident caused by the direct cause of education and training directly related to the performance of duties as referred to in subparagraph 2-1” as referred to in Article 2-2 of the attached Table 2-2 of this case, and thus, the deceased falls under the soldier or policeman who died on duty

4. Nevertheless, the lower court determined otherwise on the ground that there was a proximate causal relation between the instant training and the deceased’s failure to take place prior to the instant training, and thus, it erred by misapprehending the legal doctrine on the requirements of persons who died on duty or on duty under Article 4(1)5 of the Act on Persons of Distinguished Services to the State. The allegation in the grounds of appeal assigning this error is with merit.

5. Therefore, without examining the remaining grounds of appeal, we reverse the judgment below, and remand the case to the court below for a new trial and determination. It is so decided as per Disposition by the assent of all participating Justices on the bench.

Justices Lee Ki-taik (Presiding Justice)