General Civil Servants Killed Fighting Wildfires to Receive "Line-of-Duty" Honors

Ministry of Personnel Management Proposes Amendment to Public Officials Accident Compensation Act Enforcement Decree
Expands Line-of-Duty Death Recognition Based on Actual Risks of Duties
Introduces Public Participation in Reviews and Rehabilitation

General civil servants who die while performing dangerous duties, such as fighting wildfires or carrying out rescue operations at disaster sites, will be eligible for the same treatment under the Act on the Honorable Treatment of and Support for Persons of Distinguished Service to the State as military, police, and firefighting officials who die in the line of duty. The scope of recognized line-of-duty deaths will be expanded based on the risks of the work actually performed, rather than the type of civil service position. The institutional framework for supporting civil servants injured or made ill in the line of duty with treatment, rehabilitation, and a return to work will also be strengthened.

The Ministry of Personnel Management announced on November 10 that it had given advance notice of a partial revision to the Enforcement Decree of the Act on Compensation for Government Employees for Accidents. The ministry will gather public and relevant agency feedback through November 21, and the revised decree is scheduled to take effect in February 2027.

The key change is an overhaul of the criteria for honoring civil servants who die while performing hazardous duties. Until now, under the Act on the Honorable Treatment of and Support for Persons of Distinguished Service to the State, those recognized as having died in the line of duty as military or police personnel were, in principle, military, police, and firefighting officials who died while performing hazardous duties. General civil servants could also be recognized in exceptional cases following a veterans affairs review, but standards for such recognition differed by occupation.

Under the new criteria and procedures, general civil servants who die while performing hazardous duties similar to those of military, police, and firefighting officials, such as fighting wildfires or supporting rescue operations at disaster sites, may also be recognized as having died in the line of duty as military or police personnel. The Government Employees Compensation Review Committee and the Veterans Affairs Review Committee will deliberate and decide based on the nature and risks of the work actually performed. The aim is to assess the substance of the duties rather than a person's status or affiliated agency.

A public participation system will also be formally introduced to improve the fairness and transparency of line-of-duty death reviews. Based on the results of this year's pilot reviews by a public participation panel, the Ministry of Personnel Management plans to specify how the panel is formed and how it operates, and to launch the system formally in 2027. The range of records that may be requested from relevant agencies will also be expanded to ensure that the facts needed to determine whether a death occurred in the line of duty can be established more accurately.

Support for rehabilitation and return to work will also be strengthened for civil servants receiving treatment for work-related injuries or illnesses. The legal basis for compiling and managing statistics on work-related accidents, which had previously been inadequate, will be established, and new statistical categories and procedures will be introduced to systematically track rehabilitation, including work-related sick leave. A legal basis for processing relevant sensitive information will also be established to make rehabilitation support policies more effective.

The scope for using funds for accident compensation will also be broadened. The name of the “Accident Compensation Contribution,” previously used to pay accident compensation benefits, will be changed to the “Accident Prevention and Compensation Contribution,” allowing the funds to be used for accident prevention and programs supporting rehabilitation and return to work. The rehabilitation and return-to-work support services entrusted to the Government Employees Pension Service will also be stipulated directly in the enforcement decree, rather than in an existing public notice, to ensure greater stability for the programs.

In addition, the criteria for identifying civil servants eligible for priority payment of death condolence benefits and the standards for recognizing work-related injuries will be revised to reduce confusion in administering the system.

Kim Jeongyeon, director general for accident compensation policy at the Ministry of Personnel Management, said, “We will work to strengthen the recognition afforded to civil servants who die while performing hazardous duties and to build a support framework that enables civil servants injured in the course of their work to return to their jobs after treatment and rehabilitation.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.