Family of tuberculosis victim may see compensation
An old man in shabby clothes visited the office of a military fact-finding committee in Jung-gu, downtown Seoul, on April 5 of this year. Gwon Won-gil, 66, who had to enter the office with the help of staff there because of his frail condition, submitted a petition with a shaking hand. His purpose was to clarify the cause of his son’s death. Gwon’s son died shortly after starting his mandatory military service 30 years ago (currently, South Korean males still must serve 2 years and 2 months of service). The petition said, "Please find out whether my youngest son, who had been healthy, was beaten to death or not. And if he died from an illness, what disease was it? I want to know." After seven months, the fact-finding committee made an intermediate judgment on November 2. The panel took into consideration the old age and poor health of the petitioner, and decided to announce its preliminary findings on the cause of his son’s death before the official close of its investigation. According to the preliminary decision, private Gwon O-seok died after catching tuberculosis while in training at a military camp. However, he was recorded as simply succumbing from illness, without any mention of his military service being the cause.Gwon O-seok entered a noncommissioned officer academy in March 1976 and was hospitalized due to tuberculosis at an army hospital in Busan some time later, passing away in August 1976. The hospital initially reported that his illness had been caught in the line of duty, but after receiving instructions from the army, it was recorded in the official military records only that the soldier had died from tuberculosis, failing to state anything about his having contracted the illness while serving for his country, according to the fact-finding committee. The fact-finding panel wrote, "As Gwon died from a disease with significant relationship to conducting official military affairs, he should be awarded with merit for his service." The committee also said that the military authority maintained a high-handed manner and did not explain to Gwon’s family why their son’s death had been treated as "death from sickness," instead of "death in the line of duty," which had added to his family’s pain. Gwon’s family has never received compensation for his death. But after the final judgement by the fact-finding committee comes through, it is possible the government will pay the compensation due to survivors of those who have died while serving for their country. The military fact-finding committee, a temporary organization under the presidential office, was established at the beginning of this year and will conduct its investigations until the end of the year.
