[1] Location and degree of proof of causation between official duties and the occurrence of disease, which is the requirement for payment of bereaved family's compensation under Article 61 (1) of the former Public Officials Pension Act / In a case where there is a proximate causal relation between official duties and death from a public official's death, and matters to be considered to recognize a proximate causal relation

[2] In a case where a public official Gap, who was a public official of the National Assembly, overall control of the department in charge of petition, experienced occupational stress due to the tension of a new job and the burden of civil petitioners' response, and appeals to an excessive job in addition to the previous work that was attempted for the first time, and applied for medical treatment and recuperation, and filed for medical treatment and recuperation, and was committed suicide before the attendance at the new wall on the following day after the period of sick period, the case holding that a proximate causal relationship between Gap's work and death can be acknowledged on the ground that Gap's excessive work and other severe stress related thereto, were aggravated or aggravated, and the existing depression was considerably aggravated or aggravated due to severe stress, and the normal perception ability, choice ability, and mental suppression ability cannot be expected due to depression, and it can be inferred that suicide led to suicide

[1] Article 61(1) of the former Public Officials Pension Act (Amended by Act No. 13387, Jun. 22, 2015) / [2] Article 61(1) of the former Public Officials Pension Act (Amended by Act No. 13387, Jun. 22, 2015)

[1] Supreme Court Decision 2011Du32898 Decided June 11, 2015 (Gong2015Ha, 983)

Plaintiff

The Government Employees Pension Service

Seoul High Court Decision 2016Nu43871 decided November 11, 2016

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

The grounds of appeal are examined.

1. “A disease in the line of duty” under Article 61(1) of the former Public Officials Pension Act (amended by Act No. 13387, Jun. 22, 2015) refers to a disease caused by official duty during the performance of official duties. As such, there is a causal relationship between a public official’s and a disease. The causal relationship must be proved by the assertion of such causal relationship. Provided, That where a proximate causal relationship is acknowledged from a normative point of view, the causal relationship must be proved. In the event a public official’s death due to a suicide, the disease in the line of duty is caused or aggravated due to the occurrence or aggravation of the disease, and where it is presumed that the disease was caused by lack of normal awareness or choice ability, mental suppression, or considerable decline, and that there was a proximate causal relationship between a public official’s suicide and his/her death during the performance of official duties. In addition, there is a comprehensive causal relationship between the public official’s disease and his/her death (see, e.g., Supreme Court Decision 2015Da18191.

2. Review of the reasoning of the lower judgment and the evidence duly admitted by the lower court reveals the following facts.

A. On April 10, 1995, the deceased non-party, who is the husband of the Plaintiff (hereinafter “the deceased”), was appointed as a public official of the National Assembly position, began to work with ○○○○○○○ Department of the National Assembly, was promoted to the administrative officer in 2010, and thereafter, from around 2012 to the △△△△△△○ Office, the National Assembly Secretariat was serving as the head of the petition department in △△△△△△△△

B. △△-gu’s petition organization consisting of five members, including the Deceased and three competent officers, and one working-level officer, who are in charge of overall affairs. After examining the department in charge of the petition, petition, and Internet civil petition received from the National Assembly, the Deceased performed the tasks of delivering the civil petition, etc. to the competent department, or completing the report or objection that the competent authorities directly consulted the civil petitioners. The petitions, petition, and civil petition received from the National Assembly were reached 6,00 cases annually around 2012, and it is difficult to grasp the contents thereof and set the competent department, making it difficult to determine the competent department difficult, and thus, the degree of performance of duties was high, including consultation on telephone civil petitions and visiting civil petitions, and thus highly stressed.

C. From January 2013, the Deceased, who provided telephone counseling services for the prevention of suicide in addition to the existing duties, was in charge of preparing for the establishment and operation of an office space, volunteer recruitment, education, business promotion, etc. In addition, even though the period of preparation by April 8, 2013, which is the date of the scheduled counseling center, was not long, there was no additional work and holiday work for more than 50 hours a month.

D. From March 2013, the number of horses was gradually decreased after being entrusted with the duties of the Overall Counseling Center, and the body weight was 8 km or decreased between the month during which Hura, amb, the left-hand bridge, the pain on the left-hand bridge, and the fluora, and the flusium. The deceased complained of the fluoral spirit and treatment on the grounds that the flusium and the flusium caused by occupational disorder and related stress were conducted several times on April 2013, and the flusium and treatment was recommended from the department in charge of the oriental medicine of the Donam University of Seoul National University on April 25, 2013.

E. Accordingly, on April 25, 2013, the Deceased applied for sick leave and received outpatient treatment at his own home from April 25, 2013 to the 30th day of the same month, and the Deceased died on the same day on May 1, 2013, following the end of the period of sick leave.

F. Meanwhile, on the other hand, on April 3, 1996, the deceased, who was appointed as a public official, caused symptoms such as apprehensions, portraits, tensions, and depressions, which are adaptation to new duties on April 3, 1996, and continued to receive mental treatment for mixed uneasiness until December 11, 2012. The deceased’s doctor expressed that the deceased’s primary doctor had a strong sense of stress on the academic achievement, strokes, and stress on work adaptation, and that there was a still remaining mental instability until the last treatment.

3. We examine these facts in light of the legal principles as seen earlier.

On April 196, 196, the deceased was diagnosed as a mixed uneasiness disorder in the process of adaptation to new duties, but continued to provide mental treatment and work without any particular problem. However, as the deceased in 2012 takes overall control of the department in charge of the petition including the civil petitioner’s response differently from the previous one, occupational stress has gradually accumulated due to the tension in new duties and the burden of civil petitioners’ response. From January 2013 to April 2013, the deceased seems to have suffered serious mental distress due to the burden on the part of the Ministry of National Assembly for the first time in the process of opening and operating the counseling center in the local community, which was attempted for the first time in the National Assembly, in addition to the previous civil petition affairs.

In addition, due to such excessive work and stress, the Deceased showed an indeption, uneasiness, and early symptoms, and the health conditions of the Deceased, such as 8 km or fall short of the body between one month, along with the pains of the bridge and the pains of the bridge, have deteriorated. However, the depression seems to have rapidly aggravated as it did not receive proper treatment.

Therefore, in light of these circumstances, it is reasonable to view that the deceased’s excessive work and its related extreme stress have aggravated or deteriorated the existing depression.

Furthermore, considering the situation where the deceased was to attend the new wall work on May 1, 2013 after the end of the period after the time when the deceased was sick at his home, and the reason why the deceased was to commit suicide and the circumstances where there were no other special reasons for the deceased to choose suicide, etc., it can be inferred that the deceased’s normal perception, ability to choose action, and mental suppression significantly drops due to depression, thereby resulting in suicide by taking into account the situation to the extent that it is impossible to expect reasonable judgment, and thus, proximate causal relation between the deceased’s work and the death can be acknowledged.

4. Nevertheless, the lower court did not closely examine the cause and degree of occupational stress that the deceased received, the circumstances leading up to the recurrence or aggravation of the existing depression, and the mental condition of the deceased at the time of suicide, etc., and determined that it is difficult to deem that the deceased was subject to, or was unable to overcome, occupational stress to, the degree that the deceased was extremely vulnerable or unable to overcome, or that the depression was caused and aggravated, and denied a proximate causal relationship between the deceased’s death and the public duty. Therefore, the lower court erred by misapprehending the legal doctrine on proximate causal relationship between the death and the public duty in occupational accidents, thereby failing to exhaust all necessary deliberations, thereby adversely affecting the conclusion of the judgment.

5. Therefore, the lower judgment is reversed, and the case is remanded to the lower court for further proceedings consistent with this Opinion. It is so decided as per Disposition by the assent of all participating Justices on the bench.

Justices Kim Shin (Presiding Justice)