Administrative Decisions Concerning Persons of Distinguished Service to the State: Registration and How to Challenge a Decision

Based on 13 consultation cases · Updated October 4, 2026 · Translated from the Korean original.

Whether a person is registered as a person of distinguished service to the State depends on several requirements, including the relationship between the injury and the performance of duties, the applicable laws and regulations, and the disability rating. If you challenge a denial of registration or a refusal of interment in a national cemetery, first determine which decision may be challenged in court and when you actually became aware of the decision.

People and decision-makers → Applicant → Registration authority → Reviewing court → A service-related injury leads to a registration application or challenge → Was the injury related to performing duties? → yes → Do current criteria and the disability rating support registration? → no → Registration may not be available → Does a statutory ground for exclusion apply? → The applicant may qualify for registration → Check duty-related causation → A private act unrelated to duties may not qualify → Check the rules in force when decided → Consider support eligibility if partly at fault → Check the decision and when you learned of it → Challenge the original denial, not a rejected objection

Key points

Even if a person is injured during military service, an injury resulting from a private act unrelated to the person’s duties may not meet the requirements for recognition as a person of distinguished service to the State (Case 7, Supreme Court Decision 92Nu4444, November 27, 1992).
An application for registration should not be denied in its entirety merely because the applicant was partly at fault. It should be considered whether the applicant may qualify as a person of distinguished service to the State or a person eligible for support, as applicable (Case 9, Supreme Court Decision 2013Du2402, July 11, 2013).
There is a case holding that distinguishing between persons of distinguished service to the State and persons eligible for veterans' compensation based on whether an injury sustained in the performance of duties is directly related to the defense and security of the State, among other things, does not violate the principle of equality (Case 3, Constitutional Court Decision 2016Hun-Ba263, December 29, 2016).
A person is not excluded from recognition as a person of distinguished service to the State merely because they were disciplinarily dismissed after suffering an injury in the line of duty. However, it must be separately determined whether a statutory ground for exclusion applies (Case 4, Supreme Court Decision 94Nu12005, December 27, 1994).
As a rule, eligibility for registration is determined under the laws, regulations, and criteria in force when the application is reviewed and the decision is made (Case 5, Supreme Court Decision 2004Du8521, May 31, 2007).
If an objection to a denial of registration as a person of distinguished service to the State is rejected, the challenge should be directed at the original denial of registration, not the decision rejecting the objection itself (Cases 6 and 12, Supreme Court Decision 2015Du45953, July 27, 2016).
The period for filing an action to revoke a decision begins when the person actually becomes aware that the decision has been made. Unless otherwise provided, a decision addressed to another party takes effect when it is notified to that party (Case 11, Supreme Court Decision 2014Du8254, September 25, 2014).
There is a case holding that rights granted personally, such as compensation for persons of distinguished service to the State, are personal rights that cannot be inherited, and that an heir cannot succeed to litigation brought by a deceased person (Case 8, Supreme Court Decision 2003Du5037, August 19, 2003, and others).

Frequently asked questions

Q. Is everyone who is injured during military service recognized as a person of distinguished service to the State?

Not necessarily. An injury sustained in an act ordinarily related to one’s duties may satisfy the requirements, but an injury caused by a private act unrelated to the performance of one’s duties may be excluded.

Q. Can registration be denied even if I was partly at fault for my injury or death?

There is a case holding that an entire application for registration should not be summarily rejected merely because the applicant’s own negligence contributed to the injury or death. The decision-maker must examine, among other things, whether there is a causal relationship between the training or performance of duties and the resulting injury or death, and determine whether the applicant qualifies as a person of distinguished service to the State or a person eligible for support.

Q. Can I be denied registration as a person of distinguished service to the State if I am disciplinarily dismissed after suffering an injury in the line of duty?

There is a case holding that disciplinary dismissal alone does not exclude someone from registration as a person of distinguished service to the State. However, it must be separately determined whether any statutory ground for exclusion applies.

Q. If my objection to the denial of registration as a person of distinguished service to the State is rejected, should I bring an action against that decision?

There is a case holding that a decision rejecting an objection merely leaves the original denial of registration in place and is not itself a separate decision subject to an action for revocation. You should consider an administrative appeal or an action for revocation challenging the original denial of registration.

Q. If the veterans affairs office revokes an earlier decision recognizing me as a person of distinguished service to the State, who has to prove the case?

There is a case holding that the administrative agency that revokes a decision granting an existing benefit or right must prove that the original decision was flawed or that there is a public need to revoke it. The public interest in revocation must also be weighed against the disadvantage to the person concerned.

Q. Does the period for filing an action begin on the day I first inspect materials relating to the decision?

There is a case holding that the relevant date is not when a person could infer the substance of a decision from related materials, but when the person actually became aware that the decision had been made. For a decision addressed to another party, the time when that party became aware of the decision, such as through notification, is important.

Q. If the applicant dies before being recognized as a person of distinguished service to the State, can the family continue the lawsuit?

There is a case holding that rights such as compensation for persons of distinguished service to the State are personal rights belonging exclusively to the individual, are not inheritable, and cannot be succeeded to by an heir who seeks to continue the deceased person’s pending litigation.

Q. Is a refusal of interment in a national cemetery always lawful if it complies with the operating rules?

Not necessarily. Operating rules are internal administrative guidelines for handling affairs, so a decision is not automatically lawful merely because it complies with those rules. However, there is a case holding that the outcome of the review should be respected unless the criteria themselves or the result of applying them are manifestly unreasonable.

Q. Can I bring a separate action for revocation solely against a determination in a reexamination that did not recognize my disability rating?

There is a case holding that a determination made in a reexamination is only part of the procedure for deciding whether to grant registration and does not, by itself, constitute a disposition that establishes separate rights or obligations. Accordingly, an action for revocation cannot be brought to challenge the determination itself.

Relevant laws

Act on the Honorable Treatment of and Support for Persons of Distinguished Service to the State, Article 4(1)(5) (국가유공자 등 예우 및 지원에 관한 법률 제4조 제1항 제5호)
Act on the Honorable Treatment of and Support for Persons of Distinguished Service to the State, Article 4(1)(6) (국가유공자 등 예우 및 지원에 관한 법률 제4조 제1항 제6호)
Act on the Honorable Treatment of and Support for Persons of Distinguished Service to the State, Article 4(5)(4) (국가유공자 등 예우 및 지원에 관한 법률 제4조 제5항 제4호)
Act on the Honorable Treatment of and Support for Persons of Distinguished Service to the State, Article 4(6)(3) (국가유공자 등 예우 및 지원에 관한 법률 제4조 제6항 제3호)
Act on the Honorable Treatment of and Support for Persons of Distinguished Service to the State, Article 5 (국가유공자 등 예우 및 지원에 관한 법률 제5조)
Act on the Honorable Treatment of and Support for Persons of Distinguished Service to the State, Article 6 (국가유공자 등 예우 및 지원에 관한 법률 제6조)
Act on the Honorable Treatment of and Support for Persons of Distinguished Service to the State, Article 19 (국가유공자 등 예우 및 지원에 관한 법률 제19조)
Act on the Honorable Treatment of and Support for Persons of Distinguished Service to the State, Article 74-18 (국가유공자 등 예우 및 지원에 관한 법률 제74조의18)
Act on the Honorable Treatment of and Support for Persons of Distinguished Service to the State, Article 79(1)(4) (국가유공자 등 예우 및 지원에 관한 법률 제79조 제1항 제4호)
Act on Support for Persons Eligible for Veterans' Compensation, Article 2(1)(2) (보훈보상대상자 지원에 관한 법률 제2조 제1항 제2호)
Act on the Establishment and Management of National Cemeteries, Article 5(3)(5) (국립묘지의 설치 및 운영에 관한 법률 제5조 제3항 제5호)
Former Operating Rules of the National Cemetery Interment Eligibility Deliberation Committee, Article 4(4)(2) (구 국립묘지안장대상심의위원회 운영규정 제4조 제4항 제2호)
Administrative Litigation Act, Article 20(1) (행정소송법 제20조 제1항)
Constitution of the Republic of Korea, Article 39(2) (헌법 제39조 제2항)
Enforcement Decree of the Act on the Honorable Treatment of and Support for Persons of Distinguished Service to the State, Article 8(2) (국가유공자예우등에관한법률 시행령 제8조 제2항)

Watch out for

A decision rejecting an objection and the original denial of registration may be different decisions for purposes of a lawsuit, so first identify the decision you intend to challenge.
The period for filing an action depends on when you actually became aware of the decision and whether it was notified to you. Do not assume that the period necessarily starts on the day you received records disclosed under an information-access request; check when the decision was actually notified and delivered.
In a case where an administrative agency revokes an existing decision that was favorable to the person concerned, the burden of proof may differ from that in an ordinary case involving denial of registration.
Some cases concern laws and regulations as they stood before amendment. For a current application or challenge, check the laws and regulations in force at the relevant time.

Source cases

This guide was compiled by AI from the following Korea Legal Aid Corporation consultation cases (in Korean).

This guide is general legal information about Korean law, not legal advice for your situation. For a specific case, consult a lawyer or the Korea Legal Aid Corporation (call 132 in Korea).