2020Nu2463 Persons of Distinguished Service to the State and sought revocation of such decision at the expense of persons eligible for veteran's compensation

[Lawsuit]

A

Law Office of Pohang (Law Office)

Attorney Park Jae-in, Justice Park Jae-ok, Justice Park Chang-soo, Justice Lee Chang-soo, Justice Lee Chang-soo

Attorney Lee Han-hee

The Administrator of the Korea National Veterans Affairs Office;

Daegu District Court Decision 2018Gudan10137 Decided January 31, 2020

July 17, 2020

August 11, 2020

1. The plaintiff's appeal is dismissed.

2. The costs of appeal shall be borne by the Plaintiff.

1. Purport of claim

In the first place, the Defendant’s disposition against the Plaintiff on November 7, 2017 as non-conforming to the requirements of a person who rendered distinguished services to the State is revoked. In the second place, the Defendant’s disposition against the Plaintiff on November 7, 2017 is revoked.

2. Purport of appeal

The part against the plaintiff in the judgment of the first instance is revoked. The defendant revoked the disposition equivalent to the requirements of a person who rendered distinguished service to the plaintiff on November 7, 2017 (the plaintiff, around the first instance court, around November 7, 2017, requested the revocation of the disposition equivalent to the requirements of a person who rendered distinguished service to the plaintiff, and the revocation of the disposition equivalent to the requirements of a person who rendered distinguished service to the plaintiff on the same day as the defendant preliminaryly claimed against the plaintiff on the same day, and the court of first instance dismissed the plaintiff's primary claim and accepted the preliminary claim. Since the plaintiff appealed only to the primary claim against the plaintiff, the scope of the judgment of this court is limited

1. Details of disposition;

A. High B (hereinafter referred to as "higher") who is the plaintiff's spouse is a fire-fighting official appointed on October 23, 1996 and served as a fire-fighting officer in the Dongdaemun-gu Seoul Special Metropolitan City Fire Fighting Force, the racing fire fighter, and the Posnnam Fire Fighting Force.

B. On February 4, 2015, the deceased died on March 5, 2016, when receiving treatment after being diagnosed as “non-human cancer” (hereinafter “instant disease”).

C. On June 20, 2017, the Plaintiff filed an application for registration of bereaved family members of persons who have rendered distinguished services to the State on the ground that the deceased was exposed to hazardous substances, smoke, etc. during the performance of fire extinguishment and duties as an emergency medical service worker, and the disease occurred due to such exposure.

D. On November 7, 2017, the Defendant rendered a decision that a deceased person does not constitute a person eligible for distinguished service to the State under the Act on the Honorable Treatment and Support of Persons, etc. of Distinguished Service to the State (hereinafter “National Meritorious Act”), and notified the Plaintiff of the decision (the notification of the decision that the Plaintiff does not meet the requirements for distinguished service to the State).

[Reasons for Recognition] Facts without dispute, Gap evidence Nos. 1, Eul evidence Nos. 1 through 4, and 6 (including provisional number), the purport of the whole pleadings

2. Whether the instant disposition is lawful

A. The plaintiff's assertion

The deceased was appointed as a fire official, and was exposed to all kinds of harmful substances during the performance of fire extinguishment and rescue and first-aid services for 19 years and four months. From June 2014 to November 1, 2014, the disease of this case was not diagnosed, and from the average hours of overtime work 54 hours during the night work, 84 hours during the night work, and 3.6 days during the holiday work, the stress was extremely serious due to excessive overtime work. The disease of this case was directly caused by the above performance of duties, and the disease was killed by the deceased, the deceased constitutes a person of distinguished service to the State (person of distinguished service to the State) as prescribed in Article 4(1)5 of the Act on the Persons of Distinguished Service to the State. Accordingly, the prior disposition of this case on a different premise should be revoked as it is unlawful.

B. Relevant statutes

The entries in the attached Table-related statutes are as follows.

(c) Fact of recognition;

1) Details of the personal affairs of the deceased;

A) From October 23, 1996 to April 30, 1992: Seoul Dongdong Fire Fighting Unit

B) From May 1, 2002 to July 1, 2013: racing and fire extinguishing (fire 1,373, 607, 1,255).

The number of call-up 1,373 cases at the time of being employed in the racing and fire station is the sum of 50 cases of call-up at the scene of the fire on September 23, 2008 and 823 of the total number of call-up at the scene of the fire in the racing and fire station employed by the senior person from July 23, 2009 to July 1, 2013. Meanwhile, the number of call-up at the time of being employed in the racing and fire station was 3 Article 3.2.

C) From July 2, 2013 to January 18, 2015: Ponam Fire Fighting Force (fire 38, 14, 5 cases)

(ii) the health status of the deceased;

A) Results of health examinations in 2013

-Comprehensive Award: NormalB (not less than a boundary, health, but in need of self-management and preventive measures);

- Opinions: Non-chron control(s)(s)(s)(s)(s)(s)(s)(s)(s), blood pressure control(s)(s)(s)(s)(s)(s)(s)(s)(s)(s)(s)(s)(s)(s)(s)(s)(s)(s)(s)(s)(s)(s)(s)(s)(s

B) Results of health examinations in 2014

-Comprehensive Award: NormalB (not less than a boundary, health, but in need of self-management and preventive measures);

- Opinions: Control of inter-functional functions (refluence and tracking of inter-functional functions), blood pressure control (defluence type, regular exercise and blood pressure cycle measurement), call roll management (low method, movement method and tracking inspection);

- - For a year, average of 23 smokes per day;

3) On June 2, 2017, the Public Official Pension Service rendered a disposition of approval for medical care for the instant disease on official duty.

(iv) medical opinions

(a)arguing the Board of Patriots and Veterans Entitlement 1

In particular, it is known that there is a special correlation between virus infection and other environmental factors due to the outbreak factors of the instant disease. In particular, it can act as a cause of small dust, such as oil, dust, trees, plastics, etc. in the working environment, and in particular, it is known that visitors included in the smoke generated by incomplete combustion of coal, trees, and other materials are likely to increase the possibility of the instant disease.

According to the medical records and work records, on October 23, 1996, a deceased person was appointed as a fire-fighting officer and was engaged in a large quantity of fire-fighting activities during the work period (19 years and four months), and was investigated as being smelting smoke and harmful substances generated during his/her activities. Since the deceased person was inevitably exposed to the foregoing smoke and harmful substances during his/her official duties, it is believed that there is a proximate causal relation between the disease of this case and the official duties.

B) Advice of the Board of Patriots and Veterans Entitlement 2

Unlike other cancers, the cause of the instant disease is a genetic and environmental person, well-known in a well-known state, resulting in vir (Eps-Brrros) and salt taken in in children’s flag, and it is not possible to find any direct causal link between other causes and cancer. Therefore, proximate causal link between the instant disease and public duties cannot be acknowledged.

C) Advice of the Board of Patriots and Veterans Entitlement 3

○ The main outbreak factors of the instant disease are genetic and E-B viruses, and there is no proximate causal relation between the instant disease and official duties.

D) Results of entrustment of appraisal of medical records and entrustment of supplementation by the first instance court

○ The instant disease is known as a combination of non-insulrovis, food or living environment, and genetic factors. Among the three factors, the disease is known in the academic world to include exposure to diversified hydrocarbons (pocyclichyd caron) generated at the time of heating food, food, and living conditions, by taking alcohol, taking salt into a chemical quality such as sporady, and by exposing food, such as sporadr.

According to the medical records of the deceased, the deceased was 4 months at the time of the diagnosis of the instant disease on February 4, 2015, and the opinion on the telegraph transfer was confirmed only for 4 months and 4 months after the completion of the treatment of air cancer, and the disease of this case rapidly aggravated at a natural speed after the outbreak of the disease.

○ In the medical record, there is no basis to determine that the injury or disease of this case occurred as a direct cause for the deceased’s performance of duty as a fire-fighting official. However, it cannot be readily concluded that there exists no causal link between the harmful substances occurring at the scene of fire, or the working environment exposed to various kinds of smokes and the occurrence of the disease of this case

[Reasons for Recognition] Unsatisfy, Entry B in the Evidence Nos. 2 through 7, Results of the request for appraisal of medical records to C Association of the first instance court, and the purport of the whole pleadings

D. Determination

1) Relevant legal principles

In order to recognize that the performance of duties or education and training is a direct cause as stipulated in Article 3 [Attachment Table 1] of the Enforcement Decree of the Act on Persons of Distinguished Services to the State, it is insufficient to simply have a proximate causal relation between the performance of duties or education and training and the death or wound (including a disease). It is reasonable to view that the death or wound must be the main cause of the performance of duties or education and training, which is directly related to the protection of the national defense, security, or the lives and property of the people. Therefore, even if the performance of duties or education and training have partly affected the death or wound, it cannot be deemed that the performance of duties or education and training were the main cause of the death or wound of the person himself/herself, or it cannot be deemed that it falls under the scope of recognition of the requirements for persons of distinguished services to the State as stipulated in the Act and subordinate statutes on Persons of Distinguished Services to the State (see, e.g., Supreme Court Decisions 2015Du41333, Apr. 27, 2017; 2015Du694).

2) Comprehensively taking account of the following circumstances revealed in light of the foregoing legal principles as to the instant case’s health team and the facts acknowledged earlier, the evidence submitted by the Plaintiff alone is insufficient to recognize that the Defendant’s performance of duties, such as extinguishing the fire, was the principal cause of the instant disease or the death resulting therefrom, and there is no other evidence to acknowledge otherwise, the instant disposition is lawful.

① The instant disease is known as having caused genetic cattle, virus infection and living environment. The person causing a living environment is known to include exposure to chemical substances, such as alcohol consumption, taking in salt, exposure to chemical substances such as salvine, exposure to salvydrocaron, etc. that occur in the process of heating string, etc. However, there is no ground to recognize that the outbreak of human being was derived from exposure to chemical substances, etc. in the course of performing his/her duties, such as genetic bos, virus infection, and extinguishment in the private sector, rather than a living environment in the private sector.

② Recognizing the fact that a senior fire officer was appointed to perform fire extinguishment, rescue, etc. for a period of 19 years and four months, it appears that the senior person was exposed to a hazardous substance to a certain extent in light of the characteristics of the fire site. However, there is no evidence showing that the senior person was exposed to a certain hazardous substance that may affect the occurrence of the instant disease in the course of performing his/her duties, such as extinguishing fire.

③ There seems to be no research or data that the frequency of the outbreak of the instant disease compared to those of those working in the workplace, such as the deceased, is higher than that of those who do so (the result of the request for the supplementation of medical records).

④ The medical record appraisal also presented a medical opinion that no ground exists to determine the occurrence of the instant disease as a direct cause for fire-fighting officials’ performing their duties. Meanwhile, the above medical record appraisal also presented the opinion that “no direct or indirect causal relationship exists between harmful substances occurring in the field of fire, or the working environment exposed to various kinds of smokes, and the outbreak of the instant disease.” However, such medical opinion cannot be said to be a medical ground or proof as to the fact that a high person’s performance of duties, such as extinguishing fire, was the main cause of the instant disease or death.

3. Conclusion

The plaintiff's main claim of this case is dismissed because there is no reason to do so, and the judgment of the court of first instance is just, and the plaintiff's appeal is dismissed. It is so decided as per Disposition.

Justices Kim Jae-han

Judge Gyeong-man

Judges Soh Hospital

A person shall be appointed.

A person shall be appointed.

A person shall be appointed.