South Korea will expand the scope of disability compensation for military officers and enlisted soldiers by adding a new Grade 5 to the existing four-tier system, the government announced Monday.
The government will also overhaul its overall support framework so that service members injured during military duty can receive one-stop assistance from the state.
The Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs, and the Military Manpower Administration jointly announced the improvement plan for the injured service member support system on Monday.
The range of benefits available to injured service members will be expanded. By adding Grade 5 to the current Grade 1-4 disability compensation tier for officers and enlisted soldiers, the government will broaden the scope of compensation coverage.
For officers, only those classified as "combat-related injuries and special duty-related injuries" were previously eligible for disability compensation, but the government is pursuing a plan to also provide compensation to those with general duty-related injuries. "Combat-related injuries" refer to injuries sustained in situations equivalent to combat, while "duty-related injuries" refer to injuries sustained during training or other official duties.
A "state-led integrated support service for injured service members," a government-driven guidance and support system for wounded soldiers, will also be established.
To receive veterans' benefits, injured service members must go through treatment, medical examination, review for unfitness for active duty, and compensation and veterans' benefits screening. Until now, injured service members and their families had to check the procedures themselves and apply individually to the relevant departments.
As a result, the process was complex and the responsible departments differed from one another, leading to missed applications and cases where basic benefits were not received. The government has already organized "integrated support teams for injured service members" in each military branch since March this year.
The integrated support teams guide service members through various procedures, including injury treatment, discharge review, compensation, and veterans' benefit applications, and provide solutions when shortcomings arise during the process.
The government will also develop and operate an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot application that provides round-the-clock answers to service members' questions about injury treatment, compensation, and veterans' benefits.
In particular, while injured service members could previously apply for veterans' benefit eligibility only six months before discharge, the system has been changed so that applications can be made during service regardless of discharge timing, allowing them to be honored as veterans' benefit recipients upon discharge.
For soldiers whose duty-related injuries have clear causes and who were hurt during exemplary performance of duties or training, the government plans to apply a wartime labor service classification.
This measure will prevent cases in which injured soldiers are classified as supplementary service personnel and required to serve again as social service workers, creating conditions for them to enter society more quickly.
"In supporting service members who have dedicated themselves to the country, the state will take responsibility and resolve their difficulties so that there is no negligence whatsoever," the government said.
