Retirement Benefits Returned After 73 Years... Court Says 'Abduction is Not Retirement'

[Financial News] The court has ruled that the spouse of a railway official who was forcibly abducted during the Korean War should be given retirement benefits. The rationale is that although he could not perform his duties due to the abduction, his status as a public official was maintained.
According to the legal community on the 24th, the 11th Division of the Seoul Administrative Court (Presiding Judge Kim Junyoung) ruled in favor of the plaintiff in June in a lawsuit filed by A, the spouse of a former railway official, against the Public Officials Pension Service for the cancellation of the non-payment of retirement pension.
During the Korean War, B, who was working as a railway official under the Ministry of Transportation, was forcibly abducted by the North Korean People's Army in July 1950. B married A in North Korea and died in 1996, and A defected to South Korea in October 2003.
A claimed B's retirement benefits from the Public Officials Pension Service in March last year, but the service notified her that he was not eligible for the Public Officials Pension Act, and A filed a lawsuit against this decision.
A argued that B was not naturally retired or dismissed, but merely unable to perform his duties due to abduction, and that he maintained his status as a public official even when the Public Officials Pension Act was enacted and implemented in 1960. On the other hand, the service requested confirmation of B's employment details from Korea Railroad Corporation, but the corporation replied that 'no records exist', which the service used to counter A's claim.
The court stated, "B was serving as a public official at the time of abduction, and there is no evidence of any reason or disposition that would automatically terminate his status as a public official," and "According to the old National Public Officials Act in effect at the time of B's abduction, abduction or disappearance of a public official does not constitute a reason for natural retirement, dismissal, or leave."
The court further noted, "The deceased was abducted before the Public Officials Pension Act was enacted, so it is clear that he did not pay contributions," but "Nevertheless, the Public Officials Pension Act states that if one had the status of a public official, they could receive a retirement pension or lump-sum payment based on their service period, without requiring the payment of contributions as a condition for receiving retirement benefits."
kyu0705@fnnews.com Reporter Kim Dongkyu